The Precipice

Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity

By: Toby Ord

Narrated by: Toby Ord

This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time.

If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back. Since then, these dangers have only multiplied, from climate change to engineered pathogens and artificial intelligence. If we do not act fast to reach a place of safety, it will soon be too late.

Drawing on over a decade of research, The Precipice explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity.

An Oxford philosopher committed to putting ideas into action, Toby Ord has advised the US National Intelligence Council, the UK Prime Minister's Office, and the World Bank on the biggest questions facing humanity. In The Precipice, he offers a startling reassessment of human history, the future we are failing to protect, and the steps we must take to ensure that our generation is not the last.

©2020 Toby Ord (P)2020 Recorded Books

A must listen!

I could not stop listening to this book. It was written and performed in a way that made the topics easy to understand and enjoyable to listen to.

Good summary of long-term risks

Good overview and introduction to long-term risks facing humanity. It balances accurate summaries of the problem with optimistic and hopeful outlooks for the future, as well as things readers can do to improve the likelihood that the future is positive.

Extremely important and impactful

This book by Toby Ord is extremely important review of the landscape of what could end Humanity completely, and what we can do about it. This is one of the most important books for this extremely important century.

Outstanding book on a critical topic

I'm not gonna lie... If you don't want to be disturbed, maybe even a little depressed, beware of this book. Its subject matter isn't exactly cheerful. And lets be honest, humanity is facing multiple potential existinction level threats, many of which are completely manmade, in the very near future. Other possible extinction threats are not driven by human action, though the risk may be mitigated with targeted and thoughtful action right now, before those threats can become imminent.

Regardless of the source of our possible demise, mankind is in the unique position to understand, to act, or to stick our heads in the proverbial sand and hope the Big Scary just goes away... Which is unlikely.

Toby Ord was at least prescient and cognizant enough of humanity's precarious position on the precipice of complete annihilation to analyze the statistical probability of each way we could feasibly kill ourselves off. I don't want to give it away, but let's just say his estimate of this probability in the next 100 years is astonishing... And dreadful.

So, you should read this book. If you have children or want to, read this book. If you merely care about mankind's future, read this book. Then take what you learn and put some effort towards preventing these contingencies. Please.

Excellent

This book is amazing, longtermism will be the philosophy of the future for all

Rquired reading for all citizens of the cosmos!

The topics in this book are the most important to contemplate. Wake up and live!

Wake up!

Important message but a bit redundant. It is a must read though.
I will listen to it more than once for the data.

Future of hamanity

Such a wonderful thought provoking book, I am recommending it to everyone I know and don’t know - we as humans need to focus more on what actions mean for tomorrow. Toby Ord provides the science, history, and facts to steer us on a path to be better!

Read What We Owe The Future instead of this

It’s a fine book but it doesn’t go as deep or have as strong of supporting arguments as What We Owe The Future. Otherwise they are carbon copies of each other. Overall good message though and interesting read

The author is most definitely not a Stoic

I find notions of lasting equilibrium and harmony to be alarmingly immature. No individual, group, or species makes it out alive and the anxiety, abuse of misinformation, abuse of power in "combating" (and designing) these panics does more harm to actual individuals who are actually existing today than these imaginary crimes against potential future generations which may or may not ever exist.

It isn't helpful to ponder what humanity could achieve if only human beings had a different nature. People don't keep venomous snakes as free-roaming pets in their homes because we understand the nature of venomous snakes. Humans may have thumbs and language but we are as forever wed to our nature as those snakes are to theirs. Power corrupts; the masses are easily led; our days are numbered. Enjoy the life and love that you have.