GCRI Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Post Date March 03, 2022
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Category news coverage, news summary, nuclear war, statement

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine is already shaping up to be an event of historic proportions. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, its implications for global catastrophic risk. We at GCRI are monitoring the unfolding events with great concern. While it is always important to understand all parties’ perspectives on a conflict, in this case we find ourselves strongly condemning the actions of the Russian government. Our hearts go out to the many people in Ukraine who have been tragically affected by …

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GCRI Statement on the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection

Post Date January 15, 2021
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Category events, news coverage, statement

We at the Global Catastrophic Risk Institute were appalled and disgusted to watch as right-wing domestic violent extremists stormed the US Capitol on January 6 to threaten Congress and disrupt certification of the Electoral College vote [1].

Though shocking in its own right, the insurrection fits a broader pattern. Empirical research shows that right-wing domestic violent extremism has been the main source of terrorism in the United States since the attacks of September 11, 2001. We unequivocally oppose all forms of terrorism and political violence. We hope that …

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Wired UK: Apocalypse, Now?

Post Date February 15, 2017
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Category news coverage

In its March cover feature on the end of the world, Wired UK wrote about the work the GCRI does—along with the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER), the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI), the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI), and the Future of Life Institute (FLI)—to mitigate catastrophic risk. In an article on the 10 biggest threats facing civilization, Wired UK discusses the research GCRI does on the risk that an inadvertent nuclear war could cause a nuclear winter and on systemic risk from climate …

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FiveThirtyEight: What a Balloon’s Pop Tells Us About the End of the World

Post Date December 19, 2016
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Category news coverage

FiveThirtyEight’s “Science Questions from a Toddler” used a three-year old’s question about why balloon’s pop as a jumping off point for a general discussion of catastrophic risks. The article mentions GCRI, along with the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER), the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI), and the Future of Life Institute (FLI). In an interview, GCRI associate Kaitlin Butler told FiveThirtyEight that awareness of catastrophic risks is making scientists and governments take into account to a greater extent “issues like public health, social justice and indirect risks …

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