Centre For The Study Of Existential Risk

New job opportunities, six month review, 11 new lecture videos, 'photo-bioreactors' for feeding livestock, and more - our monthly newsletter!
https://mailchi.mp/cam/cser-newsletter-ap ril-2019

Our last Management Board Report was in October 2018. Over the last five months, we have continued to advance existential risk research and grow the field. Highlights include:
*Publication of Extremes book, seven papers in venues like Nature Machine Intelligence, and a Special Issue. *Engagement with global policymakers and industry-leaders at conferences, and in one-on-one meetings. *Announcement that Prof. Dasgupta will lead the UK Government Global Review of the Economics ...of Biodiversity. *Submission of advice to key US, UN and EU advisory bodies. *Hosting of several expert workshops, helping us to inter alia encourage leading machine learning researchers to produce over 20 AI safety papers. *Welcomed new research staff and visitors. *Produced a report on business school rankings, contributing to the two leading business school rankers reviewing their methodology. *Public engagement through media coverage and the exhibition ‘Ground Zero Earth’.
https://www.cser.ac.uk/news/six-month-rep ort-nov-april-2019/
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How to feed our livestock animals without destroying rainforests? One answer might be Iceland's 'photo-bioreactors'. Interesting article by our new researcher Asaf Tzachor.
"You might not be able to stomach soybeans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but the animals you eat do. Cultivation of the staple crop takes up an area five times the size of the UK, and 85% of that area is used for animal feed. Thanks to projected rapid growth in both world population and in the meat-eati...ng global middle class, demand for soybean is set to grow 80% by 2050 – more than any other staple crop.
With arable land at a premium, our desire for animal products is already responsible for the deforestation of vast swathes of the Amazon and other rainforests. This massive increase in demand is likely to lead to a whole lot more destruction, at precisely the time when we need to be curbing what is the second biggest cause of global warming.
But this destruction is not yet a certainty. I recently travelled to Iceland to investigate a cutting-edge commercial technology that soups up photosynthesis. It could help save the bio-diverse, CO₂-sucking ecosystems that are so vital to the health of our planet."
https://theconversation.com/how-hacking-p hotosynthesis-coul…
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11 videos from our 2018 conference are now online. World experts cover the challenges of studying existential risks, 'black elephants', the 'ice apocalypse' and much more!
https://www.cser.ac.uk/…/lecture-videos -our-2018-conference/

"Climate change is an existential crisis - listen to climate scientists" - Greta Thunberg https://www.bbc.co.uk/…/climate-change- activist-greta-thunb…

DEADLINE: 26 May 2019
The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) invites applications for a Research Associate in Global Justice and Global Catastrophic Risk.
This postdoctoral position has four years of funding. The Research Associate will work on some of the most important topics in the world today, will produce ground-breaking and fascinating research, be part of a supportive and collaborative team, and will achieve real impact with their insights.... https://www.cser.ac.uk/…/research-assoc iate-global-justice…/
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Can we transform the world in 12 years to respond to climate change? We have before.
https://www.bbc.com/…/can-we-transform- the-world-i…/p073j3z5

Comprehensive overview of EU AI policy initiatives by Charlotte Stix. - Compared to other global powers, the European Union (EU) is rarely considered a leading player in the development of artificial intelligence (AI). Why is this, and does this in fact accurately reflect the EU’s activities related to AI? What would it take for the EU to take a more leading role in AI, and to be internationally recognised as such?
This new report surveys core components of the EU’s current ...AI ecosystem, providing the crucial background context for answering these questions. It outlines the EU’s high-level strategy and vision for AI, before looking at three crucial components the EU will need to implement this vision: funding, talent, and collaboration. The report aims to provide deeper insight into EU activities related to AI, to rectify any misconceptions about the EU’s level of involvement in AI development, and identify priorities for strengthening the current ecosystem.
Key takeaways: - There is a clear emphasis on ethics and responsibility in the EU’s AI strategy and vision, especially relative to the US and China. - One barrier to the EU’s global competitiveness in AI development is a relative lack of VC investment and startup funding. - Another challenge for the EU is ‘brain drain’ of talented researchers and developers to other continents. - The EU’s AI ecosystem could be strengthened by increased collaboration between member states.
https://www.charlottestix.com/european-un ion-ai-ecosystem
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Our Management Board Chair Prof. Dasgupta will lead the UK Govt Review of the Economics of Biodiversity, announced by the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond in the Spring Statement. More information on the biodiversity crisis and our work on it here: https://www.cser.ac.uk/…/dasgupta-lead- uk-review-eco-biodi…/

Announced by the UK Chancellor in the Spring Statement yesterday: "Later this year, the UK government will launch a comprehensive global review of the link between biodiversity and economic growth to be led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Cambridge." Partha is the Chair of our Management Board. https://www.gov.uk/…/spring-statement-2 019-philip-hammonds-…

Out now - Special Issue of Foresight on 'Existential risk to humanity', edited by Olle Häggström and CSER's Catherine Rhodes. Features 10 peer-reviewed papers on:
*Facing disaster: the great challenges framework - Phil Torres
*Complexity, creeping normalcy and conceit: sexy and unsexy catastrophic risks - Karin Kuhlemann
... *Long-term trajectories of human civilization - Seth D. Baum , Stuart Armstrong , Timoteus Ekenstedt , Olle Häggström , Robin Hanson , Karin Kuhlemann , Matthijs M. Maas , James D. Miller , Markus Salmela , Anders Sandberg , Kaj Sotala , Phil Torres , Alexey Turchin , Roman V. Yampolskiy
*There is plenty of time at the bottom: the economics, risk and ethics of time compression - Anders Sandberg
*Islands as refuges for surviving global catastrophes - Alexey Turchin , Brian Patrick Green
*Food without sun: price and life-saving potential - David Denkenberger , Joshua Pearce , Andrew Ray Taylor , Ryan Black
*When two existential risks are better than one - James Daniel Miller
*Predicting future AI failures from historic examples - Roman V. Yampolskiy
*Challenges to the Omohundro–Bostrom framework for AI motivations - Olle Häggström
*The intelligence explosion revisited - Karim Jebari, Joakim Lundborg
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/fs/21/ 1
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Want to read 10,000 words on US export controls and emerging technologies? We got you. #clickbait
Dr Sam Weiss Evans' comment for the Department of Commerce on “Review of Controls on Certain Emerging Technologies”.
-Recommendation 1. With up to four years between emerging technology identification and international harmonization, formal definition of emerging technology of security concern should only be done for the narrowest band of technology that the US can guarantee it w...
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CSER postdoc Julius Weitzdörfer's book 'Extremes' is out today!
Humanity is confronted by and attracted to extremes. Extreme events shape our thinking, feeling, and actions; they echo in our politics, media, literature, and science. We often associate extremes with crises, disasters, and risks to be averted, yet extremes also have the potential to lead us towards new horizons. Featuring essays by leading intellectuals and public figures arising from the 2017 Darwin College Le...ctures, this volume explores 'extreme' events, from the election of President Trump, the rise of populism, and the Brexit referendum, to the 2008 financial crisis, the Syrian war, and climate change. It also celebrates 'extreme' achievements in the realms of health, exploration, and scientific discovery. A fascinating, engaging, and timely collection of essays by renowned scholars, journalists, and intellectuals, this volume challenges our understanding of what is normal and what is truly extreme, and sheds light on some of the issues facing humanity in the twenty-first century.
*Features contributions from renowned intellectuals and public figures *Provides a fascinating spectrum of viewpoints on the theme of extremes *Challenges the reader's perception of normality, giving a greater insight into the nature of 'extremes'
https://www.cambridge.org/…/gener…/po pular-science/extremes…
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This Cambridge University video features researchers from the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and the Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Human intelligence has changed the world in countless ways. As machines surpass our problem-solving abilities, what will that mean for the future? Watch the full film:

Are we on the road to civilisation collapse? How to think about the future(s) of AI Advice to the @UNSGdigicoop Advice to the EU High-Level Expert Group on AI Ground Zero Earth art exhibition... 7 interviews with Lord Martin Rees 🎇The February newsletter!🎆 https://mailchi.mp/cam/cser-newsletter-fe bruary-2019 …
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The new Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and computing as they relate to security and international policy. It is led by Jason Matheny, former director of federal Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) and backed by $55m from the Open Philanthropy Project.
CSET website: https://cset.georgetown.edu/ Washington Post story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/d...6d abc62-391f-11e9-a2cd-30… Georgetown announcement: https://www.georgetown.edu/…/largest-us -center-on-artificia… Open Philanthropy grant write-up: https://www.openphilanthropy.org/…/geor getown-university-ce…
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Researchers from CSER and Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence discuss the far-reaching advances offered by artificial intelligence – and consider the consequences of developing systems that think far beyond human abilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=MK31E4mSbXw

CSER and Future of Humanity Institute (Oxford University) researchers submitted advice to the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation on the international governance of AI. It lays out the challenges and offers some options for global governance.
Summary
International Digital Cooperation must be underpinned by the effective international governance of artificial intelligence (AI). AI systems pose numerous transboundary policy problems in both the short-... and the longterm. The international governance of AI should be anchored to a regime under the UN which is inclusive (of multiple stakeholders), anticipatory (of fast-progressing AI technologies and impacts), responsive (to the rapidly evolving technology and its uses) and reflexive (critically reviews and updates its policy principles). We propose some options for the international governance of AI which could help coordinate existing international law on AI, forecast future developments, risks and opportunities, and fill critical gaps in international governance.
Possible elements of an international regime include: *A Coordinator and Catalyser of International AI Law *An Intergovernmental Panel on AI (IPAI) *A UN AI Research Organisation (UNAIRO)https://…/news/advice-un-high-l evel-panel-digital-cooperation/
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