The Precipice

We stand at a precipice - a point where the future is at stake.Humanity has come so far: ten thousand generations, each building on the work of their ancestors to reach the heights of culture and technology we see today. If we choose, we can continue this grand project, with enough time to end disease, poverty and injustice, and to fulfil our potential. But this future is at risk: for the first time, our power has grown so great that we have the ability to destroy ourselves. The ecipice is a clear-eyed look at the risks that we face, from the familiar, such as nuclear war and climate change, to the emerging, such as biotechnology and advanced artificial intelligence. It argues that ending these risks has become one of the most important moral issues of our time.What do we owe to the generations that follow us? This is an inspiring vision of human history, the legacy we will leave behind, and the steps we must take to work towards a brighter future.

A story of the greatest risks to humanity's future, from the climate crisis and nuclear war to pandemics and artificial intelligence

Vorwort
From a leading moral philosopher, a landmark narrative spanning thousands of generations of human history that explores the biggest threats facing humanity, and what must be done to protect our future

Autorentext
Toby Ord is a moral philosopher focusing on the big picture questions facing humanity. Born in Australia, he is a Senior Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University. He is the founder of Giving What We Can and co-founder of the Effective Altruism movement, which has raised more than a hundred million pounds for some of the world's most deserving causes. In 2020, alongside Shonda Rimes, Kanye West and JK Rowling, he was included on the Financial Times's 'the good list', which highlights the work of the world's ten most inspiring philanthropists. He has also advised DeepMind, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, the US National Intelligence Council and the UK Prime Minister's Office, among others. He lives in Oxford.

Klappentext

A world-leading moral voice addresses the imminent threats to human survival and the decent way to conceptualise them.

Zusammenfassung
'*The Precipice is a powerful book . . . Ord's love for humanity and hope for its future is infectious*' Spectator 'Ord's analysis of the science is exemplary . . . Thrillingly written' Sunday Times 'Toby Ord is today's Carl Sagan. Clear and inspiring, this book leaves us hopeful for a flourishing human future' Christine Peterson, co-founder of the Foresight Institute We live during the most important era of human history. In the twentieth century, we developed the means to destroy ourselves - without developing the moral framework to ensure we won't. This is the Precipice, and how we respond to it will be the most crucial decision of our time. Oxford moral philosopher Toby Ord explores the risks to humanity's future, from the familiar man-made threats of climate change and nuclear war, to the potentially greater, more unfamiliar threats from engineered pandemics and advanced artificial intelligence. With clear and rigorous thinking, Ord calculates the various risk levels, and shows how our own time fits within the larger story of human history. We can say with certainty that the novel coronavirus does not pose such a risk. But could the next pandemic? And what can we do, in our present moment, to face the risks head on? A major work that brings together the disciplines of physics, biology, earth and computer science, history, anthropology, statistics, international relations, political science and moral philosophy, The Precipice is a call for a new understanding of our age: a major reorientation in the way we see the world, our history, and the role we play in it.