Democratising Risk: In Search of a Methodology to Study Existential Risk

Understand

Studying potential global catastrophes is vital.

• The high stakes of existential risk studies (ERS) necessitate serious scrutiny and self-reflection.
• We argue that existing approaches to studying existential risk are not yet fit for purpose, and perhaps even run the risk of increasing harm.
• We highlight general challenges in ERS: accommodating value pluralism, crafting precise definitions, developing comprehensive tools for risk assessment, dealing with uncertainty, and accounting for the dangers associated with taking exceptional actions to mitigate or prevent catastrophes.