Is The Precipice Worth Reading?
Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity
by Toby Ord
Ada’s Score
Oxford philosopher Toby Ord makes a rigorous, compassionate case that humanity stands at a pivotal moment in history where the decisions we make in the next century could determine whether civilisation flourishes for billions of years or collapses entirely. Synthesising science, philosophy, and probability, Ord surveys the landscape of existential risks — from engineered pandemics to misaligned artificial intelligence — with clarity and moral seriousness. This is not a book of doom but of profound responsibility and hope. It belongs in the same conversation as the works of Carl Sagan and E.O. Wilson.
“Rigorously argued and unexpectedly moving — Ord makes you care about the next million years.”
Ada Brief
AI reading intelligence“Rigorously argued and unexpectedly moving — Ord makes you care about the next million years.”
Book Details
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
- Published
- January 1, 2020
- Pages
- 480
- Language
- English
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Ada’s Score Breakdown
4.4
This breakdown reflects how Ada weighs the book’s strengths and flaws, not aggregated reader data.
Common Questions About The Precipice
- Is The Precipice worth reading?
- Rigorously argued and unexpectedly moving — Ord makes you care about the next million years. Ada rates it 4.4 out of 5.
- How many pages is The Precipice?
- The Precipice is 480 pages long — around 8–9 hours at an average reading pace.
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