The Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
The Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk is an interdisciplinary research centre focused on the study of human extinction-level risks that may emerge from technological advances.
- AKA: CSER.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Non-Profit Organization.
References
2014
- http://cser.org/
- An existential risk is one that threatens the existence of our entire species. The Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) — a joint initiative between a philosopher, a scientist, and a software entrepreneur — was founded on the conviction that these risks require a great deal more scientific investigation than they presently receive. CSER is a multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to the study and mitigation of risks that could lead to human extinction.
Our goal is to steer a small fraction of Cambridge’s great intellectual resources, and of the reputation built on its past and present scientific pre-eminence, to the task of ensuring that our own species has a long-term future.
CSER is now hosted within Cambridge’s Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), under the management of Dr. Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh. We are currently funded by a seed donation from founder Jaan Tallinn, and are seeking sources of funding for a number of planned research projects. We welcome enquiries and offers of support — please see our News & Contact page for contact details and a sign-up link for our new mailing list, CSER News.
- An existential risk is one that threatens the existence of our entire species. The Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) — a joint initiative between a philosopher, a scientist, and a software entrepreneur — was founded on the conviction that these risks require a great deal more scientific investigation than they presently receive. CSER is a multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to the study and mitigation of risks that could lead to human extinction.
- (Hawking, Russell, et al., 2014) ⇒ Stephen J. Hawking, Stuart J. Russell, Max Tegmark, and Frank Wilczek. (2014). “Transcendence Looks at the Implications of Artificial Intelligence - but are we taking AI seriously enough?." The Independent, May 2, 2014
- … Although we are facing potentially the best or worst thing to happen to humanity in history, little serious research is devoted to these issues outside non-profit institutes such as the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, the Future of Humanity Institute, the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and the Future of Life Institute. All of us should ask ourselves what we can do now to improve the chances of reaping the benefits and avoiding the risks.