Global Catastrophic Risks Conference (Oxford university, 17-20 July, 2008)

Global Catastrophic Risks conference Oxford July 17-20


http://www.global-catastrophic-risks.com/

This July the Future of Humanity Institute will play host in Oxford to a number of leading experts on different global catastrophic risks.
The conference is intended to advance knowledge and increase academic interest in this neglected area.

The conference will provide delegates with an overview of the key risks, and the state of current thinking on each of them. It will also be a forum to bring together scholars from many different disciplines to discuss the common problems and methodologies which affect the study of global catastrophic risks.

Any scholar whose interest lies in issues which could potentially involve a catastrophe on a global scale will find the conference stimulating and relevant to their research.

Topics treated will include :

* nuclear terrorism,
* cosmic threats such as supernova, comets and asteroids,
* the long term fate of the universe,
* pandemics,
* nanotechnology,
* ecological disasters which drastically reduce biodiversity,
* climate change,
* biotechnology and biosecurity,
* the cognitive biases associated with making judgements in the context of global
catastrophic risk,
* social collapse, and
* the role of the insurance industry in mitigating and quantifying risk.

Follow this link for more detailed information about our speakers and the topic of their lectures and to register for the conference (the deadline for registration is Monday, 19 May, 2008).

It is hoped that during the Conference discussions and networks will be created which will lead to more extensive collaborations that will treat global catastrophic risks as a field for research and as an issue requiring the engagement of the public and policy makers.

--
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University