Humanities

The Oxford philosopher Toby Ord estimates that there is a one in six chance that humanity will experience an “existential catastrophe” within the next hundred years. By an existential catastrophe he means either the extinction of humanity or some other event, like the irreversible collapse of civilization, that destroys what he calls humanity’s “long-term potential.” If it is true that humanity faces a serious risk of existential catastrophe within the next hundred years, how should we respond? In this talk, Samuel Scheffler will address this question and offer a compelling response to the prospect of existential catastrophe.