Lifeboat Foundation

The Lifeboat Foundation is a nonprofit organization, devoted to researching the possibilities of existential risk from powerful modern technologies, such as those based on genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics, and proposing policy options to avert or minimise the risks. It has taken the position of pursuing a variety of options, including relinquishment of some technologies when feasible, and helping to accelerate the development of defensive technologies — including anti-biological virus technologies, nanotechnological defensive strategies, and self-sustaining space colonies in case all else fails. Its work is supported by a scientific advisory board, which contains a large number of notable scientists, futurists, philosophers and other thinkers who are concerned about the possibilities and risks of advanced technologies.

The Lifeboat Foundation was formed on the ethical premise that decreasing the likelihood of human exinction is the most useful endeavor on the planet today. In recent years, several prominent public figures have stepped forward strongly in favor of mitigating extinction risks. Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom writes, “For standard utilitarians, priority number one, two, three and four should consequently be to reduce existential risk. The utilitarian imperative “Maximize expected aggregate utility!” can be simplified to the maxim “Minimize existential risk!”. In a famous WIRED article titled, "Why the future doesn't need us", co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Bill Joy, writes, "Given the incredible power of these new technologies, shouldn't we be asking how we can best coexist with them? And if our own extinction is a likely, or even possible, outcome of our technological development, shouldn't we proceed with great caution?" Famous physicist Stephen Hawking writes, "It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species. Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of."

The President and Founder of the Lifeboat Foundation is Eric Klien, its International Evangelist is Philippe van Nedervelde, its Fundraising Director is Michael Anissimov, and its Director of Long-term Strategy is Michael Vassar. The Lifeboat Foundation is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

See also

Prominent individuals encouraging the mitigation of existential risk:

• Stephen Hawking - famous physicist who encourages space colonization to mitigate risk
• Sir Martin Rees - President of the Royal Society, author of "Our Final Hour"
• Ray Kurzweil - famous inventor and futurist, author of "The Singularity is Near"
• Bill Joy - co-founder of Sun Microsystems, author of "Why the future doesn't need us"
• Nick Bostrom - Oxford philosopher, director of the Future of Humanity Institute

Related topics:

• Future studies
• Technological singularity

External Links

• Lifeboat Foundation
• Existential Risks: Analyzing Human Extinction Scenarios by Nick Bostrom
• Astronomical Waste: The Opportunity Cost of Delayed Technological Development by Nick Bostrom
• How can the human race survive the next hundred years? - question on Yahoo Answers by Stephen Hawking
• Accelerating Future - risks Regularly updated blog that discusses existential risks
• Why the future doesn't need us by Bill Joy
• It Was Fun While It Lasted by Martin Rees