How to Save the World

The universe’s history is unimaginably long, and its future will stretch longer still. If our species survives, there will be the potential for trillions of people to live happy, creative lives. But this potential will be lost if we cook the planet, nuke each other, or suffer a pandemic. We must therefore take responsibility for the reduction of existential risks, a task that is currently the focus of vanishingly few researchers. In this talk, David Laing will describe what might be done to mitigate threats to humankind.

David Laing completed his undergraduate degree at McMaster University in the interdisciplinary Arts & Science program. During that time, he explored interests in many fields, especially philosophy, physics, and English literature. After graduating, he taught argumentation and technical writing at Niagara College, and worked part-time as a writer and editor for a news start-up. In September 2016, David joined the first cohort of UBC’s Master of Data Science program, an accelerated professional degree in statistics and computer science.