Editing Martin Rees (section)

== Public engagement ==
In addition to expansion of his scientific interests, Rees has written and spoken extensively about the problems and challenges of the 21st century, and interfaces between science, ethics, and politics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Martin Rees Biography and Interview |url=https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/#interview/ |website=www.achievement.org |publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rees |first=Martin |date=9 June 2006 |title=Dark materials |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jun/10/science.comment |access-date=16 March 2023 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>[http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk/downloads/podcasts/200902_rees.mp3 Podcast of Lecture "The World in 2050"]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, given at the [[James Martin 21st Century School]], 21school.ox.ac.uk, February 2009.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rees |first=Martin |date=23 May 2015 |title=Astronomer Royal Martin Rees: How soon will robots take over the world? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/11605785/Astronomer-Royal-Martin-Rees-predicts-the-world-will-be-run-by-computers-soon.html |access-date=23 June 2019 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

In his books ''[[Our Final Hour]]'' and ''[[On the Future]]'', Rees warns that humanity faces significant [[existential risks]] in the 21st century due to technological advancements, particularly in [[bioengineering]] and [[artificial intelligence]]. Although he remains optimistic that if it is managed successfully, technology could drastically improve standards of living.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Illing |first=Sean |date=2018-10-18 |title=Cosmologist Martin Rees gives humanity a 50-50 chance of surviving the 21st century |url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/10/18/17886974/science-technology-climate-change-existential-threats-martin-rees |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2007, he delivered the [[Gifford Lectures]] on ''21st Century Science: Cosmic Perspective and Terrestrial Challenges'' at the [[University of St Andrews]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The St Andrews Gifford Lectures |url=https://gifford.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk |website=st-andrews.ac.uk |publisher=University of St Andrews}}</ref> He made two [[TED (conference)|TED]] talks on existential risks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rees |first=Martin |title=Martin Rees {{!}} Speaker |url=https://www.ted.com/speakers/sir_martin_rees |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=TED |language=en}}</ref>

Rees thinks the [[search for extraterrestrial intelligence]] is worthwhile and has chaired the advisory board for the "[[Breakthrough Listen]]" project, a programme of [[Search for extraterrestrial intelligence|SETI]] investigations funded by the Russian/US investor [[Yuri Milner]].<ref>[http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2010/02/cosmic-man/ Interview with Paul Broks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223211001/http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2010/02/cosmic-man/|date=23 February 2012}}, Prospectmagazine.co.uk; accessed 31 August 2014.</ref>

In August 2014, Rees was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite news |date=7 August 2014 |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |access-date=26 August 2014 |work=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref>

To mark the 300th anniversary of the [[Board of Longitude]] in 2014, he instigated a programme of new challenge prizes of £5-10m under the name "[[Longitude Prize]] 2014" for which he chairs the advisory board. The themes of the first two prizes are the reduction of inappropriate antibiotic use, and enhancing the safety and independence of dementia sufferers. The Longitude Prize on Dementia was announced in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=£4m prize offers hope to people with dementia to stay independent |url=https://www.ukri.org/news/4m-prize-offers-hope-to-people-with-dementia-to-stay-independent/ |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=UK Research and Innovation |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2015, he was co-author of the report that launched the [[Global Apollo Programme]], which calls for developed nations to commit to spending 0.02% of their GDP for 10 years, to fund coordinated research to make [[Renewable energy|carbon-free]] [[Base load power plant|baseload electricity]] less costly than [[Fossil fuel power station|electricity from coal]] by the year 2025.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian |title=Global Apollo programme seeks to make clean energy cheaper than coal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/02/apollo-programme-for-clean-energy-needed-to-tackle-climate-change |access-date=2 June 2015 |work=The Guardian |publisher=[[Guardian News Media]] |issue=2 June 2015}}</ref>

In his general writings and in the [[House of Lords]], his focus has been on the uses and abuses of advanced technology and on issues such as [[Assisted suicide|assisted dying]], preservation of dark skies, and reforms to broaden the post-16 and undergraduate curricula in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lord Rees of Ludlow {{!}} Spoken contributions |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/3751/contributions |website=UK Parliament}}</ref> He is also a current member of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/193/science-and-technology-committee-lords/membership/ | title=Science and Technology Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament }}</ref>