The conference was held on the 7th and 8th of October 2021. To find videos from the conference, subscribe to our YouTube channel below.

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Informing thought and opinion leaders about human extinction

According to recent Oxford research, we might face a one in six chance of human extinction this century. At the Existential Risk Observatory, we believe the societal debate should catch up with these academic insights. That’s why we’re organising the Existential Risk Conference. 

Who is it for?

The Existential Risk Conference is aimed at thought and opinion leaders, such as journalists, politicians, academics, NGO or think tank staff, and policy makers. Since we are located in the Netherlands, we are primarily aiming for leading voices of the Dutch societal debate. However, English will be spoken throughout the conference and most speakers will be international.
If you know someone who is a good fit for this event, please invite them to apply. There will be a Q&A section during the online conferrence where the audience members can submit their questions. We encourage all viewers to use it! 

Conference hours and power hour

The conference will take place on Thursday the 7th of October starting at 12:30pm, and Friday the 8th of October starting at 9am CET. For busy agendas, we will include a power hour. Our power hour gives you all the information you need to keep abreast of the emerging existential risk discussion in only one hour! If you only wish to visit the power hour, please register as normal and you will have the opportunity to leave after this hour.

7th October Schedule

12:45PM Introduction to the conference 

13:00PM Power Hour, with Simon Friederich, Susi Snyder and Rumtin Sepasspour. Moderated by Tim Wagemakers.

14:00PM Ingmar Rentzhog, speaking about the climate change crisis and his organisation We Don’t Have Time.

15:00PM Networking break 

15:30PM Simon Friederich, delivering a talk explaining what existential risks are and how we are influencing them.

16:30PM Roman Yampolskiy, delivering a short talk about ‘impossibility’ before partaking in a fireside chat about AI safety

17:30PM Closing up 

8th October Schedule

9:45AM Introduction to the conference 

10:00AM Matt Boyd, discussing how he mitigated the Covid-19 crisis in New Zealand and how we can respond to the threat of global catastrophic biological risk.

11:00AM Rumtin Sepasspour, delivering a talk about the policy making of existential and global catastrophic risk.

12:00PM Networking break 

12:30PM Susi Snyder, discussing nuclear weapon risks and her work as a nobel laureate with the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.

13:30PM Claire Boine, explaining policy making around AI law and her work at the Future of Life Institute. 

14:30PM Closing up

*Schedule is displayed in timezone CET*

List of Guest Speakers

  • Roman Yampolskiy, Professor at Louisville University.

  • Susi Snyder, Humanitarian disarmament officer at PAX, global coordinator of Don’t Bank on the Bomb. 

  • Ingmar Rentzhog, Founder and CEO of We Don’t Have Time. 

  • Simon Friederich, Philosophy professor at the University of Groningen. 

  • Claire Boine, Research associate at Harvard University and employee at the Future of Life Institute. 

  • Rumtin Sepasspour, Research affliate at the Center of Study for Existential Risk (CSER).

  • Matt Boyd, Researcher of health, technology and catastrophic risk. 

The conference was held on Swapcard where attendees could submit and answer questions. The recordings are now uploaded onto our YouTube channel.