Ever wondered where all the aliens are? It’s actually very weird that, as big and old as the universe is, we seem to be the only intelligent life. In this episode, Josh examines the Fermi paradox, and what it says about humanity’s place in the universe. (Original score by Point Lobo.) Interviewees: Anders Sandberg, Oxford University philosopher and co-creator of the Aestivation hypothesis; Seth Shostak, director of SETI; Toby Ord, Oxford University philosopher. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2020, Oxford academic and 80,000 Hours trustee Dr Toby Ord released his book The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity. It's about how our long-term future could be better than almost anyone believes, but also how humanity's recklessness is putting that future at grave risk — in Toby's reckoning, a 1 in 6 chance of being extinguished this century.Toby is a famously good explainer of complex issues — a bit of a modern Carl Sagan character — so we thought this would be a perfect introduction to the problem of existential risks.Full transcript, related links, and summary of this interviewThis episode first broadcast on the regular 80,000 Hours Podcast feed on March 7, 2020. Some related episodes include:• #81 – Ben Garfinkel on scrutinising classic AI risk arguments• #70 – Dr Cassidy Nelson on the twelve best ways to stop the next pandemic (and limit COVID-19)• #43 – Daniel Ellsberg on the creation of nuclear doomsday machines, the institutional insanity that maintains them, & how they could be dismantledSeries produced by Keiran Harris.

Humanity could thrive for millions of years -- unless our future is cut short by an existential catastrophe. Oxford philosopher Toby Ord explains the possible existential risks we face, including climate change, pandemics, and artificial intelligence. Toby and Julia discuss what led him to take existential risk more seriously, which risks he considers underrated vs. overrated, and how to estimate the probability of existential risk.

Toby Ord, moral philosopher at the University of Oxford, discusses the idea of maximising the good that you do. He explains three reasons to be cautious and suggests a more modest goal. He gives examples of harmful outcomes when aiming for a subtly wrong or incomplete goal, such as pursuing a career as a professional swimmer. Toby also explores utilitarianism, the origins and development of effective altruism, and the concept of moral trade.

Toby Ord discusses the trade-offs of maximizing one metric and the risks of optimizing AI. We explore the concept of moral trade and the impact of virtue as a multiplier on projects. Also, learn about a collection of restored and unseen Earth photographs from the Apollo program.