The case for reducing existential risks

Abstract

Since 1939, humanity has possessed nuclear weapons that threaten to destroy it. The risks of full-scale nuclear war and other new dangers, such as cyber-attacks, pandemics or artificial intelligence, outweigh traditional risks such as those associated with climate change. These dangers could not only end the lives of those living now, but also prevent the existence of all future generations. When the number of people who could exist is taken into account, it seems clear that preventing these existential risks is the most important thing we can do.