Space governance - problem profile

Abstract

The long-term future of humanity significantly depends on effective space governance, primarily due to the potential risks and opportunities presented by settling beyond Earth. In the short term, space governance can reduce the risk of terrestrial conflict, and currently presents an especially tractable problem due to lagging international regulatory mechanisms and increasing private interest in space. Important areas for progress include determining equitable distribution of resources, mitigating environmental risks like space debris, avoiding premature lock-in of decisions, and ensuring arms control. Notably, the arrival of transformative AI could present both challenges and opportunities to these governance efforts. Despite its importance, significant uncertainties about the influence of early work in space governance and the potential of being superseded by AI developments make this issue uncertain and complex. – AI-generated abstract.