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Pathways to Tomorrow: Chaos, Oppression, or Global Cooperation?
Assessing Cascade Threats Across Categories of Catastrophic and Existential Risk — Dataset
We live in an era marked by escalating existential threats and global crises. Climate change poses urgent challenges, evidenced by frequent extreme weather events such as wildfires and hurricanes, while human activities continue to degrade the environment, as seen in the depletion of the Amazon and overfishing. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted our vulnerability to health crises with significant socioeconomic impacts. Escalating geopolitical tensions, including the risk of nuclear conflict underscored by conflicts like the one in Ukraine, compounds these threats. Rapid technological advancements in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, deep fake technology, and autonomous weapons also present immense opportunities and serious risks. Political polarisation and diminishing sense-making further hinder collective problem-solving efforts. This blog explores the forces driving these risks, their complex interconnections, and the broader implications for global and socioeconomic systems. It discusses generator functions, potential future scenarios, and the criteria for a transitional economic system attuned to global cooperation.
