A community of law students interested in using evidence and careful reasoning to take actions to confront the world’s most pressing problems, including extreme poverty and existential risks from emerging technologies.
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Lunch Discussion: Planetary Defense and Existential Risk
October 6, 2022 @ 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm
12:30-1:15pm on Thursday, October 6 | WCC 3018
Major asteroid impacts are one of a handful of catastrophes—alongside nuclear war, engineered pandemics, and risks related to advanced artificial intelligence—that, if they occurred, have the potential to radically reshape humanity’s future or end life as we know it.
NASA invests in defending Earth from asteroid impacts: last week, it crashed a small spacecraft into an asteroid in what it called “the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration.”
How worried should we be about other kinds of existential catastrophes? How much should we as a society invest to prevent them? Could reducing the risk of these catastrophic events be among the best ways we can help others today?
Please join HLS Effective Altruism for a conversation about existential risks and the kinds of technologies, policies, and institutions that might be able to help reduce them.
Click here to RSVP: https://forms.gle/Av3hBy1vR7JsC2f7A
Can’t make it on Thursday but want to learn more? You might be interested in The Precipice, a recent book by the Oxford philosopher Toby Ord that explores the science behind several existential risks and argues that addressing them could be among the most pressing priorities of our time.
About us: HLS Effective Altruism is a community of law students interested in using evidence and careful reasoning to take actions to confront the world’s most pressing problems, including extreme poverty and existential risks from emerging technologies. Our events are open to all members of the Harvard community. Learn more and join our mailing list by visiting https://orgs.law.harvard.edu/effectivealtruism/
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