EA - New book on s-risks by Tobias Baumann

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: New book on s-risks, published by Tobias Baumann on October 26, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum. I have just published my new book on s-risks, titled Avoiding the Worst: How to Prevent a Moral Catastrophe. You can find it on Amazon or read the PDF version. The book is primarily aimed at longtermist effective altruists. I wrote it because I feel that s-risk prevention is a somewhat neglected priority area in the community, and because a single, comprehensive introduction to s-risks did not yet exist. My hope is that a coherent introduction will help to strengthen interest in the topic and spark further work. Here’s a short description of the book: From Nineteen Eighty-Four to Black Mirror, we are all familiar with the tropes of dystopian science fiction. But what if worst-case scenarios could actually become reality? And what if we could do something now to put the world on a better path? In Avoiding the Worst, Tobias Baumann lays out the concept of risks of future suffering (s-risks). With a focus on s-risks that are both realistic and avoidable, he argues that we have strong reasons to consider their reduction a top priority. Finally, he turns to the question of what we can do to help steer the world away from s-risks and towards a brighter future. For a rough overview, here’s the book's table of contents: Part I: What are s-risks? Chapter 1: Technology and astronomical stakes Chapter 2: Types of s-risks Part II: Should we focus on s-risks? Chapter 3: Should we focus on the long-term future? Chapter 4: Should we focus on reducing suffering? Chapter 5: Should we focus on worst-case outcomes? Chapter 6: Cognitive biases Part III: How can we best reduce s-risks? Chapter 7: Risk factors for s-risks Chapter 8: Moral advocacy Chapter 9: Better Politics Chapter 10: Emerging technologies Chapter 11: Long-term impact And finally, some blurbs for the book: “One of the most important, original, and disturbing books I have read. Tobias Baumann provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of s-risk reduction. Most importantly, he outlines sensible steps towards preventing future atrocities. Highly recommended.” David Pearce, author of The Hedonistic Imperative and Can Biotechnology Abolish Suffering? “This book is a groundbreaking contribution on a topic that has been severely neglected to date. Tobias Baumann presents a powerful case for averting worst-case scenarios that could involve vast amounts of suffering. A much needed read for our time.” Oscar Horta, co-founder of Animal Ethics and author of Making a Stand for Animals Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org.