Researchers from University of Copenhagen Describe Findings in Futures (Governing Boring Apocalypses: A new typology of existential vulnerabilities…

Researchers from University of Copenhagen Describe Findings in Futures (Governing Boring Apocalypses: A new typology of existential vulnerabilities and exposures for existential risk research)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Investment Weekly News -- Research findings on Futures are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting from Copenhagen, Denmark, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "In recent years, the study of existential risks has explored a range of natural and man-made catastrophes, from supervolcano eruption to nuclear war, and from global pandemics to potential risks from misaligned AI. These risks share the prospect of causing outright human extinction were they to occur."

Financial support for this research came from The Centre for the Study of Existential Risks.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Copenhagen, "In this approach, such identified existential risks are frequently characterised by relatively singular origin events and concrete pathways of harm which directly jeopardise the survival of humanity, or undercut its potential for long-term technological progress. While this approach aptly identifies the most cataclysmic fates which may befall humanity, we argue that catastrophic 'existential outcomes' may likely arise from a broader range of sources and societal vulnerabilities, and through the complex interactions of disparate social, cultural, and natural processes many of which, taken in isolation, might not be seen to merit attention as a global catastrophic, let alone existential, risk. This article argues that an emphasis on mitigating the hazards (discrete causes) of existential risks is an unnecessarily narrow framing of the challenge facing humanity, one which risks prematurely curtailing the spectrum of policy responses considered. Instead, it argues existential risks constitute but a subset in a broader set of challenges which could directly or indirectly contribute to existential consequences for humanity. To illustrate, we introduce and examine a set of existential risks that often fall outside the scope of, or remain understudied within, the field. By focusing on vulnerability and exposure rather than existential hazards, we develop a new taxonomy which captures factors contributing to these existential risks. Latent structural vulnerabilities in our technological systems and in our societal arrangements may increase our susceptibility to existential hazards. Finally, different types of exposure of our society or its natural base determine if or how a given hazard can interface with pre-existing vulnerabilities, to trigger emergent existential risks. We argue that far from being peripheral footnotes to their more direct and immediately terminal counterparts, these 'Boring Apocalypses' may well prove to be the more endemic and problematic, dragging down and undercutting short-term successes in mitigating more spectacular risks. If the cardinal concern is humanity's continued survival and prosperity, then focussing academic and public advocacy efforts on reducing direct existential hazards may have the paradoxical potential of exacerbating humanity's indirect susceptibility to such outcomes."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Adopting law and policy perspectives allow us to foreground societal dimensions that complement and reinforce the discourse on existential risks."

For more information on this research see: Governing Boring Apocalypses: A new typology of existential vulnerabilities and exposures for existential risk research. Futures, 2018;102():6-19. Futures can be contacted at: Elsevier Sci Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, Oxon, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Futures - www.journals.elsevier.com/futures/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting H.Y. Liu, University of Copenhagen, Fac Law, Center Int Law Conflict & Crisis, Copenhagen, Denmark. Additional authors for this research include K.C. Lauta and M.M. Maas.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2018.04.009. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe, Futures, University of Copenhagen.

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