Book review of The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity, by Toby Ord, Hachette Books, 2020.
The new book The Precipice by Toby Ord provides a wide-ranging survey of topics related to global catastrophic risk. Compared to other books on global catastrophic risk, The Precipice stands out for its depth of discussion, its quality of scholarship, and its readability. However, the book errs in its emphasis on only the most extreme global catastrophe scenarios, its strong belief in the resilience of civilization, and its use of quantitative risk analysis. The book also lacks robust treatment of risk management solutions. For these reasons, the book is not the final word on the topic, but it is nonetheless an excellent contribution.
Academic citation:
Baum, Seth D. Book review: The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity. Risk Analysis, vol. 42, issue 9 (September), pages 2122-2124, DOI 10.1111/risa.13954.
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