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The precipice : existential risk and the future of humanity / Toby Ord.

By: Material type: TextLanguage: English Publisher: New York : Hachette Books, 2020Description: x, 468 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780316484923 (trade paperback)
  • 031648492X (trade paperback)
  • 9780316484893
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 303.4909/05
LOC classification:
  • HM 901 O65p 2020
Contents:
Part one: the stakes. Introduction -- Standing at the precipice. How we got here -- Where we might go -- The precipice -- Existential risk. Understanding existential risk -- Looking to the present -- Looking to our future -- Looking to our past -- Civilization virtues -- Cosmic significance -- Uncertainty -- Our neglect of existential risks -- Part two: the risks. Natural risks. Asteroids & comets -- Supervolcanic eruptions -- Stellar explosions -- Other natural risks -- The total natural risk -- Anthropogenic risks. Nuclear weapons -- Climate change -- Environmental damage -- Future risks. Pandemics -- Unaligned artificial intelligence -- Dystopian scenarios -- Other risks -- Part three: the path forward. The risk landscape. Quantifying the risks -- Combining and comparing risks -- Risk factors -- Which risks? -- Safeguarding humanity. Grand strategy for humanity -- Risks without precedent -- International coordination -- Technological progress -- Research on existential risk -- What you can do -- Our potential. Duration -- Scale -- Quality -- Choices.
Summary: "Drawing on over a decade of research ... [the author] explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity"-- Provided by publisher
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Holdings
Item type Current library Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Copy number Status Barcode
Libro Biblioteca Juan Bosch Biblioteca Juan Bosch Ciencias Sociales Ciencias Sociales (3er. Piso) HM 901 O65p 2020 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 00000198732

Includes bibliographical references (pages 423-460) and index.

Part one: the stakes. Introduction -- Standing at the precipice. How we got here -- Where we might go -- The precipice -- Existential risk. Understanding existential risk -- Looking to the present -- Looking to our future -- Looking to our past -- Civilization virtues -- Cosmic significance -- Uncertainty -- Our neglect of existential risks -- Part two: the risks. Natural risks. Asteroids & comets -- Supervolcanic eruptions -- Stellar explosions -- Other natural risks -- The total natural risk -- Anthropogenic risks. Nuclear weapons -- Climate change -- Environmental damage -- Future risks. Pandemics -- Unaligned artificial intelligence -- Dystopian scenarios -- Other risks -- Part three: the path forward. The risk landscape. Quantifying the risks -- Combining and comparing risks -- Risk factors -- Which risks? -- Safeguarding humanity. Grand strategy for humanity -- Risks without precedent -- International coordination -- Technological progress -- Research on existential risk -- What you can do -- Our potential. Duration -- Scale -- Quality -- Choices.

"Drawing on over a decade of research ... [the author] explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity"-- Provided by publisher

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