From Pandemics to Bioweapons: Ranking Global Catastrophic Biological Risks [In Progress]

Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBRs) pose a significant threat to humanity’s long term potential. In order to better assess which of these risks deserve the most attention, a colleague and I have set out to rank major GCBRs using an Importance-Tractability-Neglectedness (ITN) framework. Once complete, the findings will be made available here on my website, the Effective Altruism (EA) Forum, and possibly additional sources. We also aim to publicise our results by engaging with journalists to reach an audience beyond the existing EA community. Given the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the general public may be more open to considering the risks associated with GCBRs and developing an interest in EA.

Project Goals: Link to heading

• Increase awareness of the importance, tractability, and neglectedness of GCBRs
• Spark discussion of the relative ranking of GCBRs
• Invite more people into the EA community through media coverage of GCBR rankings