Editing Technology (section)

==Futures studies==
{{main|Futures studies}}
''Futures studies'' is the study of social and technological progress. It aims to explore the range of plausible futures and incorporate human values in the development of new technologies.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=54}} More generally, futures researchers are interested in improving "the freedom and welfare of humankind".<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=73}} It relies on a thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of past and present technological trends, and attempts to rigorously extrapolate them into the future.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILJ_pfMgLqsC |title=Foundations of Futures Studies, Volume 1: Human Science for a New Era |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-1412823791|access-date=12 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185315/https://books.google.com/books?id=ILJ_pfMgLqsC |url-status=live }}</ref> Science fiction is often used as a source of ideas.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=173}} Futures research methodologies include [[survey research]], modeling, [[statistical analysis]], and [[Simulation|computer simulations]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=187}}<!-- I think this section shouldn't just give an overview of the field, but also its major findings, currents, etc. Avoid redundancy with the Emerging technologies section; add more perspectives on "what society might look like in the future" -->

=== Existential risk ===
{{main|Global catastrophic risk}}
Existential risk researchers analyze risks that could lead to [[human extinction]] or civilizational collapse, and look for ways to build resilience against them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.cser.ac.uk/about-us/ |access-date=11 September 2022 |website=cser.ac.uk |archive-date=30 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230172611/https://www.cser.ac.uk/about-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Gottlieb |first=J. |date=1 May 2022 |title=Discounting, Buck-Passing, and Existential Risk Mitigation: The Case of Space Colonization |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265964622000121 |journal=Space Policy  |volume=60 |page=101486 |bibcode=2022SpPol..6001486G |doi=10.1016/j.spacepol.2022.101486 |issn=0265-9646 |s2cid=247718992|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Relevant research centers include the [[Centre for the Study of Existential Risk|Cambridge Center for the Study of Existential Risk]], and the Stanford Existential Risk Initiative.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |title=Stanford Existential Risks Initiative |url=https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/stanford-existential-risks-initiative/content/stanford-existential-risks-initiative |access-date=4 October 2022 |website=cisac.fsi.stanford.edu |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922150116/https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/stanford-existential-risks-initiative/content/stanford-existential-risks-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref> Future technologies may contribute to the risks of [[artificial general intelligence]], [[biological warfare]], [[nuclear warfare]], [[nanotechnology]], [[anthropogenic climate change]], [[global warming]], or stable global [[totalitarianism]], though technologies may also help us mitigate [[Impact event|asteroid impacts]] and [[gamma-ray burst]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bostrom |first1=Nick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTkfAQAAQBAJ |title=Global Catastrophic Risks |last2=Cirkovic |first2=Milan M. |year=2011 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0199606504|access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185315/https://books.google.com/books?id=sTkfAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019 philosopher [[Nick Bostrom]] introduced the notion of a ''vulnerable world'', "one in which there is some level of technological development at which civilization almost certainly gets devastated by default", citing the risks of a [[pandemic]] caused by [[Bioterrorism|bioterrorists]], or an [[arms race]] triggered by the development of novel armaments and the loss of [[mutual assured destruction]].<ref name="Bostrom 2019">{{Cite journal |last=Bostrom |first=Nick |date=6 September 2019 |title=The Vulnerable World Hypothesis |journal=Global Policy |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=455–476 |doi=10.1111/1758-5899.12718 |issn=1758-5880 |s2cid=203169705|doi-access=free }}</ref> He invites policymakers to question the assumptions that technological progress is always beneficial, that scientific openness is always preferable, or that they can afford to wait until a dangerous technology has been invented before they prepare mitigations.<ref name="Bostrom 2019" />