What should humanity aim to be? We rarely stop to take a long-term, birds-eye perspective on our own species and ask ourselves where we would like to end up. This seminar will allow us to do so. We will ask whether the future of humanity is predictable, what forces act upon our development and whether we can and should influence the trajectory that we are on.
Existing proof of our ability to influence the long-term future of humanity is the possibility of reducing extinction risk: the risk that homo sapiens will die out, like most other species before us. We will examine the technologies and natural risks that pose a threat to humanity and evaluate how the study of technological development is intertwined with the study of future humans.
In our exploration we place a particular focus on the study of artificial intelligence, forecasting techniques, ethics and value alignment. These fields attempt to rigorously ask and mathematise key questions of relevance to the future of humanity. We will also explore systemic risk factors inherent in complex civilizations, drawing from biology, economics and climate science. Finally, we will ask how the study of the long-term future affects our daily lives and what implications it has on the here and now.
Learning outcomes
- Understand key arguments about why to consider the long-term future;
- Understand methodologies used to study the long-term future and extinction risk;
- Consider key implications of long-termism and extinction risk on our lives.
