The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk

An existential risk is one that threatens the existence of our entire species.  The Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) — a joint initiative between a philosopher, a scientist, and a software entrepreneur — was founded on the conviction that these risks require a great deal more scientific investigation than they presently receive.  CSER is a multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to the study and mitigation of risks that could lead to human extinction. Our goal is to steer a small fraction of Cambridge’s great intellectual resources, and of the reputation built on its past and present scientific pre-eminence, to the task of ensuring that our own species has a long-term future.

CSER is now hosted within Cambridge’s Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), under the management of Dr. Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh. We received seed funding from founder Jaan Tallinn. Our major research projects, workshops and lectures are supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (Managing Extreme Technological Risks), the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, the Hauser-Raspe Foundation, and the Blavatnik Foundation (Blavatnik Public Lectures). Centre research is also supported by the Libra Foundation, the Musk Foundation, the Milner Foundation and other generous philanthropic support.