1. A Brief History of Existential Risk and the People Who Worked to Mitigate It

Abstract

This chapter explores the history of Existential Risk Studies through the stories of people who have sought to understand and avert threats like nuclear weapons, environmental breakdown, and disruptive technologies over the last seventy-five years. It offers new perspectives to people working on reducing existential risks today, from politicians to activists or academics, so that we can “turn back the hands of the Doomsday Clock”.