Existential Risk Prevention as Global Priority

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Global Policy Volume 4 . Issue 1 . February 2013. 15. Existential Risk Prevention as Global Priority Nick Bostrom Research Article University of Oxford Abstract Existential risks are those that threaten the entire future of humanity. Many theories of value imply that even relatively small reductions in net Existential risk have enormous expected value. Despite their importance, issues surrounding human-extinction risks and related hazards remain poorly understood. In this article, I clarify the concept of Existential risk and develop an improved classification scheme.

(The probability dimension could be displayed along the z-axis.) The area marked ‘X’ in Figure 2 represents existential risks. This is the category of risks that have (at least) crush-

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