The Vulnerable World Hypothesis - Future of Humanity Institute - Scientific and technological progress might change people’s capabilities or incentives in ways that would destabilize civilization. This paper introduces the concept of a vulnerable world: roughly, one in which there is some level of technological development at which civilization almost certainly gets devastated by default. (45 mins.)
A critical review of “The Precipice” (maybe come back to the “Unaligned Artificial Intelligence” section next week, once you’ve engaged with the argument for AI risk).
Global Catastrophic Risks Chapter 20 - Biotechnology and Biosecurity Overview from ~15 years ago on how biotechnological power is increasing exponentially, as measured by the time needed to synthesize a certain sequence of DNA. This has important implications for biosecurity. (1 hour)
Climate Change Problem Profile - 80,000 Hours - An analysis of the worst risks of climate change, some of the most promising ways to reduce them, and how to prioritize climate change against other problems. (30 mins.)
List of nuclear close calls - Wikipedia- A description of the thirteen events in human history so far that could have led to an unintended nuclear detonation (5 mins.)
Risks from Nuclear weapons - A series of posts exploring the extent to which nuclear risk reduction is a top priority, and the most effective ways to reduce nuclear risk.
Nuclear security - Brief summary + relevant articles on the EA Forum
Global governance and international peace
Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins on 8 years of combating WMD terrorism - an interview with Bonnie Jenkins, Ambassador at the U.S. Department of State under the Obama administration, where she worked for eight years as Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. (Podcast - 1 hour 40 mins.)
Why effective altruists should care about global governance - Because global catastrophic risks transcend national borders, we need new global solutions that our current systems of global governance struggle to deliver. (Video - 20 mins.)