New breakthroughs in gene editing will lead to incredible rewards — and risks we can barely contemplate — This is the last installment of “Privatizing the Apocalypse”, a four-part essay published throughout October. Read the previous installments here — Part 1: “The 50/50 Murder,” Part 2: “Deterrence — and the Undeterrable,” and Part 3: “The Deadly Gamble on Super A.I.” A noxious strain of H5N1 flu started killing…

With fate of humanity in the balance, even a small risk demands serious action — This is the third installment of “Privatizing the Apocalypse,” a four-part essay to be published throughout October. Read the previous installments here — Part 1: “The 50/50 Murder” and Part 2: “Deterrence — and the Undeterrable”. The most famous meteorite in prehistory struck Mexico some 66 million years ago. It…

Technology is democratizing the power of who gets to live and who does not. Are we ready for the consequences? — This is the second installment of “Privatizing the Apocalypse,” a four-part essay being published throughout October. Read Part 1: “The 50/50 Murder” here. In 2015, a depressive young German named Andreas Lubitz killed himself, five co-workers, and quite a few strangers. He was one of perhaps 1,000 suicidal mass murderers…

A thought experiment on how we measure risk when the fate of the world hangs in the balance — This is the first installment of “Privatizing the Apocalypse”, a four-part essay to be published throughout October. Imagine a brilliant would-be killer arranges the following scenario: A coin will be flipped. If it’s heads, someone dear to you will die. If it’s tails, nothing happens. The bad guy — who…

Insights from Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam — I host a podcast which takes deep dives into science, tech, and sociological topics. I do this via interviews with world-class experts who have the patience to engage in truly unhurried discussions of their fields. …