Catastrophic Risk
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A Catastrophic Risk is a systemic risk that threatens large-scale harm to human populations, civilization infrastructure, or planetary systems.
- AKA: Existential Risk, Global Risk, Civilization-Threatening Risk.
- Context:
- It can typically require global coordination for risk mitigation.
- It can typically involve low probability but extreme impact event]]s.
- It can often exhibit cascade effects through system interconnection.
- It can often challenge traditional risk management due to unprecedented scale.
- It can range from being a Regional Catastrophic Risk to being a Global Catastrophic Risk, depending on its geographic scope.
- It can range from being a Natural Catastrophic Risk to being a Anthropogenic Catastrophic Risk, depending on its causal origin.
- It can range from being a Immediate Catastrophic Risk to being a Long-term Catastrophic Risk, depending on its time horizon.
- It can range from being a Reversible Catastrophic Risk to being a Irreversible Catastrophic Risk, depending on its recovery potential.
- ...
- Examples:
- Warfare Catastrophic Risks, such as:
- Environmental Catastrophic Risks, such as:
- Technological Catastrophic Risks, such as:
- ...
- Counter-Examples:
- Local Risk, which affects limited areas rather than global systems.
- Manageable Risk, which allows conventional mitigation rather than extraordinary measures.
- Cyclical Risk, which follows predictable patterns rather than catastrophic thresholds.
- See: Nuclear War Risk, Climate Change Problem, Global Catastrophic Risk, Pandemic Risk, AI Existential Risk, Risk Management, Existential Risk.