Existential Risks & the Future of Humanity | Toby Ord

Hidden Forces

Demetri Kofinas

Business, Government

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2021

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Episode 188 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Toby Ord, a Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Oxford University and author of "The Precipice," a book that focuses on the big picture questions facing humanity's long-term future and the risks which threaten to put a premature end to our existence.

The purpose of today's conversation is first, to get you to reflect on this question of whether or not humanity and our future is worth fighting for, and second, to reflect on what that means in terms of human action, politics, and global cooperation. What are the existential risks that we face as a species? How do we calculate those risks? Where do we focus our attention, how do we prioritize, and finally, what can we do to mitigate those risks that we deem worthy of our attention?

For those interested in learning about existential risk factors, this part of the discussion begins near the forty-minute mark and focuses mainly on the threat of nuclear war and the geopolitical dimensions that escalate its likelihood. The overtime is spent primarily discussing the risks posed by both natural and engineered pandemics, biological terrorism, and artificial intelligence. The two also discuss asteroid impacts, climate change, and supervolcanic eruptions.

You can access the episode overtime, as well as the transcript and rundown to this week's episode through the Hidden Forces Patreon Page. All subscribers gain access to our overtime feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 04/21/2021

Transcript

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0:00.0	What's up, everybody? My name is the Metric of Phenus, and you're listening to Hidden Forces,
0:26.8	a podcast that helps investors, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens get an edge by equipping themselves
0:33.2	with the knowledge needed to anticipate the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
0:38.8	By sharing my critical thinking approach and by challenging consensus narratives about the power
0:44.4	structures shaping our world, I help you make the connections to see the bigger picture,
0:50.8	empowering you to make smarter decisions. On this week's episode, I speak with Toby Oard,
0:57.1	a senior research fellow in philosophy at Oxford University, and author of The Pressopus,
1:03.2	a book which focuses on the big picture questions facing humanity, our long-term future,
1:09.3	and the risks which threaten to put a premature end to our existence. At first glance,
1:15.3	devoting one's life to the study of existential risks might seem a bit depressing. After all,
1:21.7	who wants to spend their days thinking about all the different ways in which humanity could finally
1:27.1	meet its end? But the more I read of Toby's book, the more I realized that his work is,
1:32.6	at its core, a meditation on why we should care in the first place, about whether or not we survive
1:39.8	as a species. And I never really considered that question before. In fact, I've often wondered if
1:45.6	the world wouldn't be better off without us. After all, so much suffering has come about in this
1:51.8	world precisely because of our presence, because of our actions, and the indulgence of our inflated
1:58.2	egos and capacities for total destruction. And yet, when I really sat down to think about it,
2:05.1	when I imagined what I would feel, knowing that I, or my children, or grandchildren,
2:10.8	or even great-grandchildren, would be the last humans to ever see a sunrise, or wonder at the
2:17.2	mystery of creation. I felt a sense of tragedy. The purpose of today's conversation is first to get
2:25.9	you to reflect on this question of whether or not humanity in our future is worth fighting for.
2:32.4	And second, to reflect on what that means in terms of human action, politics, and global cooperation.
	...

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