Global Catastrophic Biological Risks

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Questions and Answers

What are global catastrophic risks (GCRs)?

Risks that only affect certain regions of the world

Risks that could cause severe and global damage to human welfare (correct)

Risks that are not related to human welfare

Risks that are not severe enough to cause global damage

What are global catastrophic biological risks (GCBRs)?

Biological risks that could cause severe and global damage to human welfare (correct)

Biological risks that are not related to human welfare

Biological risks that only affect certain regions of the world

Biological risks that are not severe enough to cause global damage

What is a long-termist perspective?

Argues that making humanity's future better is a key objective in decision-making (correct)

Argues that the future is unpredictable and not worth considering

Argues that the present is more important than the future

Argues that short-term benefits are more important than long-term benefits

What is the threshold for when a biological event starts to threaten human civilization?

Around a death toll of 10% of the human population Signup and view all the answers

Is antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a plausible GCBR?

No Signup and view all the answers

What is the minimum death toll for a pandemic to still be among the worst events in human history?

Less than 10% of the human population Signup and view all the answers

Why is mitigating GCBRs important?

They could cause vastly greater damage than other disasters and potentially have even more long-lasting effects Signup and view all the answers

What are global catastrophic biological risks (GCBRs)?

Biological risks that could cause severe and global damage to human welfare Signup and view all the answers

What is the threshold for a biological event to start threatening human civilization?

Around a death toll of 10% of the human population Signup and view all the answers

Is antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a plausible GCBR?

No Signup and view all the answers

What is the potential impact of a pandemic that kills less than 10% of the human population?

It could still be among the worst events in human history Signup and view all the answers

Why is mitigating GCBRs important?

They could cause vastly greater damage than other disasters and potentially have even more long-lasting effects Signup and view all the answers

What is the balance of expert opinion on the likelihood of GCBRs?

Hard to assess, but there is substantial skepticism Signup and view all the answers

What is the evidence for the plausibility of GCBRs?

Expert opinion, historical events, worrying features of advancing biotechnology, and numerical estimates Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Assessing the Threat of Global Catastrophic Biological Risks

Global catastrophic risks (GCRs) threaten worldwide damage to human welfare and the long-term trajectory of humankind.
Global catastrophic biological risks (GCBRs) are biological risks that could cause severe and global damage to human welfare.
A long-termist perspective argues that making humanity's future better is a key objective in decision-making.
The threshold for when a biological event starts to threaten human civilization is high, around a death toll of 10% of the human population.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) causes great human suffering worldwide and could become a bigger problem, but it is not a plausible GCBR.
A pandemic that kills less than 10% of the human population could still be among the worst events in human history.
Biological GCBRs are controversial, and opinions vary on what events pose a credible threat to human civilization.
Evidence for the plausibility of GCBRs comes from expert opinion, historical events, worrying features of advancing biotechnology, and numerical estimates.
Expert communities have highlighted the danger of very large-scale biological catastrophes, but not all large-scale events would constitute a GCBR.
The balance of expert opinion on the likelihood of GCBRs is hard to assess, but there is substantial skepticism.
A 2008 global catastrophic risks survey offers median estimates of the likelihood of a given event occurring before 2100.
Mitigating GCBRs is important because they could cause vastly greater damage than other disasters and potentially have even more long-lasting effects.

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Description

Test your knowledge on the threat of Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBRs) with this quiz. Explore the concept of GCBRs and their potential impact on human welfare and civilization. From the threshold for a biological event to be considered a threat to the plausibility of GCBRs, this quiz covers important topics related to assessing and mitigating global biological risks. Think you know enough about GCBRs? Take the quiz and put your knowledge to the test!