Episode · Modern Wisdom · 2021-04-10
Books mentioned on A History Of Existential Risk - Thomas Moynihan - #306
Thomas Moynihan is a historian and an author. Humans may have only had the ability to destroy ourselves for the last hundred years or so, but thinkers have been hypothesising about the potential end of existence for thousands of years.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Reasons and Persons
Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit is a landmark work of moral philosophy that explores personal identity, rationality, and population ethics, challenging conventional ideas about what it means to be an individual.
Discussed“so in the in the 80s uh he wrote this uh book called reasons and persons uh and it's you know this kind of voluminous uh meticulous tone of uh you know kind of um uh very detailed ethical philosophy”
Where to get it
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The Precipice
The Precipice by Toby Ord is a rigorous philosophical and scientific assessment of existential risks that threaten the future survival of human civilization.
Discussed“and i i the precipice toby also precipice is kind of the the um i guess the founding uh text of this”
Where to get it
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Superintelligence
Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom is an influential examination of the potential risks and pathways associated with the emergence of artificial general intelligence surpassing human cognitive capabilities.
Recommended“um super intelligence fantastic”
Where to get it
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Human Compatible
Human Compatible by Stuart Russell is an authoritative examination of artificial intelligence and the control problem written by a leading pioneer in the field.
Recommended“uh uh what is it human compatible by stuart russell which came out last year that's also fantastic”
Where to get it
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X-Risk
X-Risk by Thomas Moynihan is a historical and philosophical examination of how humanity discovered and conceptualized the concept of its own potential extinction.
Recommended“but this thomas moynin x-risk how humanity discovered its own extinction dude you've done a really really good job with this”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“yes so i i often get this when uh people uh read my book they they uh are surprised that um it has this well it attempts it attempts to have this this hopeful message”