existential risk

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A risk which could destroy or permanently damage an entity

   A risk which could destroy or permanently damage an entity; a risk to one's existence.

   • In an industry that relies more than anything on the appearance of total control, total safety, these two crashes pose as close to an existential risk as you can get.
   • I believe TSLA faces existential risk based on what is happening in the world today, and that this recent scare and economic recession will only catalyze further share price decline.
2. 2

   A hypothetical future event which could cause human extinction or permanently and…

   A hypothetical future event which could cause human extinction or permanently and severely curtail humanity's potential.

   • The scenario of humanity going extinct in the next century is a disjunctive event. It could happen as a result of any of the existential risks we already know about—or some other cause which none of us foresaw.
   • But perhaps the strongest reason for judging the total existential risk within the next few centuries to be significant is the extreme magnitude of the values at stake.
   • The man often touted as the godfather of AI has quit Google, citing concerns over the flood of misinformation, the possibility for AI to upend the job market, and the “existential risk” posed by the creation of a true digital intelligence.

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