X-Risk

Author: Thomas Moynihan
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 1913029840
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

Book Description
How humanity came to contemplate its possible extinction. From forecasts of disastrous climate change to prophecies of evil AI superintelligences and the impending perils of genome editing, our species is increasingly concerned with the prospects of its own extinction. With humanity's future on this planet seeming more insecure by the day, in the twenty-first century, existential risk has become the object of a growing field of serious scientific inquiry. But, as Thomas Moynihan shows in X-Risk, this preoccupation is not exclusive to the post-atomic age of global warming and synthetic biology. Our growing concern with human extinction itself has a history. Tracing this untold story, Moynihan revisits the pioneers who first contemplated the possibility of human extinction and stages the historical drama of this momentous discovery. He shows how, far from being a secular reprise of religious prophecies of apocalypse, existential risk is a thoroughly modern idea, made possible by the burgeoning sciences and philosophical tumult of the Enlightenment era. In recollecting how we first came to care for our extinction, Moynihan reveals how today's attempts to measure and mitigate existential threats are the continuation of a project initiated over two centuries ago, which concerns the very vocation of the human as a rational, responsible, and future-oriented being.

The Precipice

Author: Toby Ord
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 031648489X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 480

Book Description
This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time. If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back. Since then, these dangers have only multiplied, from climate change to engineered pathogens and artificial intelligence. If we do not act fast to reach a place of safety, it will soon be too late. Drawing on over a decade of research, The Precipice explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity. An Oxford philosopher committed to putting ideas into action, Toby Ord has advised the US National Intelligence Council, the UK Prime Minister's Office, and the World Bank on the biggest questions facing humanity. In The Precipice, he offers a startling reassessment of human history, the future we are failing to protect, and the steps we must take to ensure that our generation is not the last. "A book that seems made for the present moment." —New Yorker

Operational Risk Management

Author: Philippa X. Girling
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118532457
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
A best practices guide to all of the elements of an effective operational risk framework While many organizations know how important operational risks are, they still continue to struggle with the best ways to identify and manage them. Organizations of all sizes and in all industries need best practices for identifying and managing key operational risks, if they intend on exceling in today's dynamic environment. Operational Risk Management fills this need by providing both the new and experienced operational risk professional with all of the tools and best practices needed to implement a successful operational risk framework. It also provides real-life examples of successful methods and tools you can use while facing the cultural challenges that are prevalent in this field. Contains informative post-mortems on some of the most notorious operational risk events of our time Explores the future of operational risk in the current regulatory environment Written by a recognized global expert on operational risk An effective operational risk framework is essential for today's organizations. This book will put you in a better position to develop one and use it to identify, assess, control, and mitigate any potential risks of this nature.

What Every Engineer Should Know About Risk Engineering and Management

Author: John X. Wang
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780824793012
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
"Explains how to assess and handle technical risk, schedule risk, and cost risk efficiently and effectively--enabling engineering professionals to anticipate failures regardless of system complexity--highlighting opportunities to turn failure into success."

Managing Suicidal Risk

Author: David A. Jobes
Publisher: Guilford Publications
ISBN: 1462526918
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description
This book has been replaced by Managing Suicidal Risk, Third Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-5269-6.

The Nature of Risk

Author: David X. Martin
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781475184396
Category : Risk management
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Nature of Risk is a short, beautifully illustrated and easy-to-understand book written to help readers face one of modern life's most important and difficult tasks-confronting risk. Free of complicated theories or formulas, The Nature of Risk relies instead on a simple story featuring a cast of familiar, forest-dwelling animals, each of which embodies a different approach to risk management. At least one of these approaches will seem familiar to every reader-whether they knew they had an approach to risk management or not. Then, as the story unfolds, the strengths and weaknesses of each approach will be revealed through a series of "natural" tests. Finally, at the conclusion of the story, readers will come to a short review section designed to help them frame their first attempts at managing risk-with or without professional help.

Undue Risk

Author: Jonathan D. Moreno
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136605568
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 394

Book Description
From the courtrooms of Nuremberg to the battlefields of the Gulf War, Undue Risk exposes a variety of government policies and specific cases, includingplutonium injections to unwilling hospital patients, and even the attempted recruitment of Nazi medical scientists bythe U.S. government after World War II.

Risk, Uncertainty and Profit

Author: Frank H. Knight
Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.
ISBN: 1602060053
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Book Description
A timeless classic of economic theory that remains fascinating and pertinent today, this is Frank Knight's famous explanation of why perfect competition cannot eliminate profits, the important differences between "risk" and "uncertainty," and the vital role of the entrepreneur in profitmaking. Based on Knight's PhD dissertation, this 1921 work, balancing theory with fact to come to stunning insights, is a distinct pleasure to read. FRANK H. KNIGHT (1885-1972) is considered by some the greatest American scholar of economics of the 20th century. An economics professor at the University of Chicago from 1927 until 1955, he was one of the founders of the Chicago school of economics, which influenced Milton Friedman and George Stigler.

The Fifth Risk

Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324002654
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
New York Times Bestseller What are the consequences if the people given control over our government have no idea how it works? "The election happened," remembers Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, then deputy secretary of the Department of Energy. "And then there was radio silence." Across all departments, similar stories were playing out: Trump appointees were few and far between; those that did show up were shockingly uninformed about the functions of their new workplace. Some even threw away the briefing books that had been prepared for them. Michael Lewis’s brilliant narrative takes us into the engine rooms of a government under attack by its own leaders. In Agriculture the funding of vital programs like food stamps and school lunches is being slashed. The Commerce Department may not have enough staff to conduct the 2020 Census properly. Over at Energy, where international nuclear risk is managed, it’s not clear there will be enough inspectors to track and locate black market uranium before terrorists do. Willful ignorance plays a role in these looming disasters. If your ambition is to maximize short-term gains without regard to the long-term cost, you are better off not knowing those costs. If you want to preserve your personal immunity to the hard problems, it’s better never to really understand those problems. There is upside to ignorance, and downside to knowledge. Knowledge makes life messier. It makes it a bit more difficult for a person who wishes to shrink the world to a worldview. If there are dangerous fools in this book, there are also heroes, unsung, of course. They are the linchpins of the system—those public servants whose knowledge, dedication, and proactivity keep the machinery running. Michael Lewis finds them, and he asks them what keeps them up at night.

The Art of Risk

Author: Kayt Sukel
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426214731
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Book Description
Are risk-takers born or made? Why are some more willing to go out on a limb (so to speak) than others? How do we weigh the value of opportunities large or small that may have the potential to change the course of our lives? These are just a few of the questions that author Kayt Sukel tackles, applying the latest research in neuroscience and psychology to compelling real-world situations. Building on a portfolio of work that has appeared in such publications as Scientific American, Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and more, Sukel offers an in-depth look at risk-taking and its role in the many facets of life that resonates on a personal level. Smart, progressive, and truly enlightening, The Art of Risk blends riveting case studies and hard-hitting science to explore risk-taking and how it impacts decision-making in work, play, love, and life, providing insight in understanding individual behavior and furthering personal success.