On Thursday 14th of September, Good Ancestors is running an online workshop to help you draft submissions to the Government's current consultation on disaster prevention and preparedness. Good Ancestors will present for half an hour about the opportunity and provide materials that help you prepare a submission. The submissions will be short, non-technical, and quick to write. The event is a self-contained 90 minute session and will include the context and materials you need; no homework before or after!

Join us on Thursday 14 September 2023 6:00PM - 7:30PM on meet.google.com/bzb-vbcz-dod

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Toby Ord, Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Oxford University, has estimated that there is a 1 in 6 chance of a species-ending catastrophe within the next century. Whilst there is debate over whether this an overestimate, even with more conservative estimates it is clear that Australia's spending on prevention of these hazards is wildly inadequate given the size of the risk.

As Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Australia's current Charity Minister, argues in his book “What’s the Worst that Could Happen?":

"Existential risks aren’t trivial. If there’s a one in six chance that humanity could be wiped out in the coming century, that means that the typical Australian is fifteen times more likely to die as a result of a species-ending catastrophe such as nuclear war than to be killed in a car crash."

For those who have been to previous Good Ancestors events, the intent of this is a single online session to produce targeted submissions that reinforce our key points. The intent is a faster turnaround and less technical product than the work on philanthropy or AI safety that you might be familiar with.

You can read the Government's paper (https://apo.org.au/.../resource.../2023-08/apo-nid323832.pdf) and Good Ancestors' draft response (https://docs.google.com/.../1uJAXxPrjdejkLiwT4KTP.../edit...) if you’re after more context.

Link to add to Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event...