What dystopian futures might await humanity and how might we avoid them? The rise of “longtermism” has seen a surge of academic interest in the vast positive future potential of an Earth-originating civilization. This movement has accompanied a growing concern about potential existential risks which could curtail our vast potential. Rogue artificial intelligence, nuclear war, and climate change could all pose existential threats to our future. There may, however, be future scenarios that can be considered worse than our extinction. This video explores the developing field of “s-risks” or “suffering risks.” These are dystopian scenarios in which the reach and scale of a future civilization becomes the stage of astronomical suffering that exceeds all suffering that has has existed on Earth so far. This video explores a range of potential s-risks as well as what we might do to prevent them.

This video was inspired by the book “Avoiding the Worst: How to Prevent a Moral Catastrophe” by Tobias Baumann, but does not necessarily reflect the views of the author. A free audiobook of Avoiding the Worst can be found on YouTube here:    • Avoiding the Worst: How to Prevent a ...  

You can support Waking Cosmos and this YouTube channel by subscribing to my Patreon page here:   / wakingcosmos  

This video was created in the interests of education and public understanding. It contains footage used in compliance with fair use / fair dealing. Royalty free and licensed footage obtained from ArtGrid. Some additional footage (referenced in the video) was used from the YouTube series, “Life Beyond” by Melodysheep, “Cassini's Grand Finale” by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a galaxy colonization projection created by NASA’s Advanced Concepts Team.

Royalty free/Re-use allowed music includes the tracks “Discovery” by Scott Buckley, “Earthbound” and “Dematerialized” by Dreamstate Logic, and the tracks “The Broken World”, “Cicada 3301” and “SI FI” by CO.AG Music. This video contains unlicensed ambient music from the video games, The Ascent, Bloodborne, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dying Light, and Half-life 2.

TIME STAMPS
00:00 The Beginning of History
04:36 What are S-risks?
07:11 Incidental S-risks
09:30 Artificial Sentient Minds
14:01 Agential S-risks
17:20 Natural S-Risks
19:35 Preventing S-risks
22:50 AI and Pivotal Technologies
25:35 Space Governance
26:26 Political Reform
28:38 Conclusion