Existential Risks

Futurized - thought leadership on the future

In this episode of the Futurized podcast, host Trond Arne Undheim interviews Dan Zimmer, Affiliate at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and the Stanford Existential Risks Initiative (SERI). They discuss takeaways from the third annual Stanford Existential Risks Conference and the collection of papers now issued as conference Proceedings.

The past two decades have seen anthropogenic global catastrophic and existential risks (x-risks) develop into an increasingly prominent source of academic study, policy focus, and public concern. The proceedings of the third annual Stanford Existential Risks Conference present a diverse array of research by both established and emerging scholars on the past, present, and future of x-risk studies. Some papers sum up the fruits of existing approaches to existential risks, while others address their blind spots or propose potential directions for the future of x-risk studies. Papers vary both by topic—ranging from nuclear risks, biosecurity, ecological collapse, and artificial intelligence and machine learning risks—and by disciplinary approach, featuring works of history, ethics, aesthetics, psychology, political science, sociology, and policy study. Many papers share a common thread in recognizing the importance of cascading risks—particularly potential interactions among acknowledged x-risks, or how cascades of “merely'' catastrophic risks could combine to jeopardize human survival. Collectively, they contribute to the task of expanding the field of x-risk studies to encompass insights, methods, and ethical orientations drawn from a more diverse and broadly representative range of academic disciplines.

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I’m your host, Trond Arne Undheim (@trondau), futurist, scholar, author, investor, and serial entrepreneur. I am a Research scholar in Global Systemic Risk, Innovation, and Policy at Stanford University. Join me as I discuss the societal impact of deep tech such as AI, blockchain, IoT, nanotech, quantum, robotics, and synthetic biology, and tackle topics such as entrepreneurship, trends, or the future of work. On the show, I interview smart people with a soul: founders, authors, executives, and other thought leaders, or even the occasional celebrity.

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I am the author of Eco Tech: Investing in Regenerative Futures, Health Tech: Rebooting Society's Software, Hardware and Mindset, Future Tech: How to Capture Value from Disruptive industry Trends, Pandemic Aftermath: how Coronavirus changes Global Society, Disruption Games: How to Thrive on Serial Failure, and of Leadership From Below: How the Internet Generation Redefines the Workplace, and the co-author of Augmented Lean: A human-centric framework for managing frontline operations. For an overview, go to Trond's Books at Trondundheim.com/books

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