"The Emergence of a Cascading X-Risks Paradigm Steeped in Transdisciplinarity"

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Existential risks (X-risks) present humankind with an ever more pressing set of challenges. As X-risk studies broadens beyond philosophy, becoming integral to fields such as social science, public health, engineering, and the sciences, cascading X-risks come into focus. Cascading risks, particularly potential interactions among acknowledged X-risks imply that cascades of “merely'' catastrophic risks could combine to jeopardize the foundations of human society. The conclusion I draw from the 2023 SERI X-risks conference is that we can and must begin to describe the essential features of such a paradigm. In so doing, I position risk as constitutive to society—with inequality, transdisciplinarity, and governance emerging as key challenges. A transdisciplinary lens creates opportunities to achieve real-world impact at scale. Yet, how to de-risk the evolution of such cascading potential is not yet clear. A formidable challenge arises: regular political discourse may not possess the tools, processes, or frameworks to accomodate the new framing. A lingering observation, in need of validation, is whether cascading X-risks present governance challenges that constitute a more wicked problem than understanding the potential of the emerging technologies that, to a large extent, created the challenges in the first place.

Author	Undheim, Trond Arne

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/gy439pz0808
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/gy439pz0808

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Preferred citation: Undheim, T. (2023). "The Emergence of a Cascading X-Risks Paradigm Steeped in Transdisciplinarity" in Intersections, Reinforcements, Cascades: Proceedings of the 2023 Stanford Existential Risks Conference. The Stanford Existential Risks Initiative. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/gy439pz0808. https://doi.org/10.25740/gy439pz0808.

Intersections, Reinforcements, Cascades: The Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Stanford Existential Risks Conference

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