Postdoctoral researcher: Ethics and evaluation of extreme technological risk (EXPIRED)

Towards a science of extreme technological risk is a two-year project within the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER). CSER’s research focuses on the identification, management and mitigation of possible extreme risks associated with future technological advances. 

We particularly invite applications from philosophy relevant to the following subproject:

Ethics of extreme technological risk (working with Professor Partha Dasgupta)

This subproject aims to examine the limitations of standard cost-benefit analysis (CBA) as a means of assessing the importance of mitigating extreme technological risk (ETR); to develop a version of CBA more suitable to this context; and derive conclusions about the importance of mitigating ETR compared to other global priorities. Relevant disciplines include: Philosophy (especially moral philosophy, applied ethics, and formal decision theory) and Economics (e.g., the economics of sustainability, the theory of future discounting).

Post-holders will be expected to:

• Conduct independent and collaborative research under the headings above, to be published as papers in leading academic journals

• Produce reports for government, industry, and other relevant organisations (for example, the World Economic Forum) based on this research, as appropriate

• Produce occasional articles suitable for a broader audience in order to increase public understanding of this area of research

• Organise, participate in, and speak at workshops, seminar series, lectures and conferences relevant to this research

• Develop collaborations with leading researchers and research centres relevant to this research within and outside Cambridge, and with key contacts in government and industry where relevant;

• Lead and collaborate on further funding applications relevant to the Towards a science of extreme technological risk project and CSER’s broader research aims.

More about the Centre's research

Our goal is to bring together some of the best minds from academia, industry and the policy world to tackle the challenges of ensuring that powerful new technologies are safe and beneficial. We focus especially on under-studied high-impact risks – those that might result in a global catastrophe, or even threaten human extinction, even if only with low probability.

CSER’s current research agenda comprises two main strands:

(1) Developing a general methodology for the management of extreme technological risk. The aim is to develop a set of methods and protocols specifically designed for the identification, assessment and mitigation of this class of risks: high-impact risks associated with technological developments. These methods will be applicable to complementary and subsequent projects on risks associated with specific technologies.

(2) Analysis of specific potential risks. Initial focus areas are likely to include artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, geoengineering, virus research, systemic risks with catastrophic consequences, and biodiversity loss.

The project Towards a science of extreme technological risk is linked primarily to the first of these strands. The project is led by Professor Huw Price (Academic Director of CSER) and managed by Dr Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh (Executive Director), and we aim to recruit up to four postdoctoral researchers. We expect to be making further postdoctoral appointments in the near future, and anticipate that the present appointees will join a rapidly growing team