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Toby Ord - Wikipedia
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Wikipedia biography of Toby Ord, a key figure in existential risk research and effective altruism, whose work at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute and book 'The Precipice' are foundational to AI safety and broader existential risk discourse.
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Summary
This Wikipedia article profiles Toby Ord, an Australian philosopher and senior research fellow at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, known for founding Giving What We Can and authoring 'The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity' (2020). His research spans moral philosophy, existential risk, longtermism, and moral uncertainty. He is a central figure in the effective altruism and AI safety communities.
Key Points
- •Toby Ord founded Giving What We Can in 2009 and is a key figure in the effective altruism movement.
- •He was a senior research fellow at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, focusing on existential risk until its closure in 2024.
- •His book 'The Precipice' (2020) is a foundational text on existential risk, including risks from advanced AI.
- •His philosophical work covers consequentialism, moral uncertainty, longtermism, and practical ethics.
- •He is a trustee of the Centre for Effective Altruism and 80,000 Hours, organizations central to the EA and AI safety ecosystem.
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Toby Ord - Wikipedia
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Australian philosopher (born 1979)
Toby Ord Ord in 2019 Born Toby David Godfrey Ord
July 1979 (age 46)
Melbourne , Australia Spouse Bernadette Young Education Education
University of Melbourne
Balliol College, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Thesis Beyond Action: Applying Consequentialism to Decision Making and Motivation  (2009) Doctoral advisors
John Broome
Derek Parfit
Philosophical work Era Contemporary philosophy School Western philosophy Institutions
Balliol College, Oxford
Giving What We Can
Future of Humanity Institute
Centre for Effective Altruism
80,000 Hours
Main interests Normative ethics
practical ethics
existential risk
moral uncertainty
Notable ideas
Effective altruism
Longtermism
Moral trade
Moral uncertainty
Reversal test
Website www .tobyord .com
Toby David Godfrey Ord (born July 1979) [ 1 ] is an Australian philosopher. In 2009 he founded Giving What We Can , an international society whose members pledge to donate at least 10% of their income to effective charities, and is a key figure in the effective altruism movement, which promotes using reason and evidence to help the lives of others as much as possible. [ 2 ]
He was a senior research fellow at Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute , where his work focused on existential risk . [ 3 ] His book on the subject, The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity , was published in March 2020. [ 4 ]
Early life and education
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Ord was born in Melbourne , Australia, in 1979. [ 5 ] He later attended the University of Melbourne , where he initially studied computer science. On completing his first degree, he switched to studying philosophy to pursue his interest in ethics, later stating: "At this stage I knew that I wanted to make a large positive difference in the world and it seemed that studying ethics would help." [ 6 ]
For his graduate studies, Ord moved to the University of Oxford , where he obtained a B.Phil. , and a D.Phil. in philosophy. Having submitted his doctoral thesis, Beyond Action: Applying Consequentialism to Decision Making and Motivation , Ord was retained as a junior research fellow by Balliol College, Oxford . [ 7 ]
Career
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Ord held the position of research fellow at Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute from 2014 until 2019, [ 7 ] and senior research fellow from 2019 until the institute's shutdown [ 8 ] in 2024. Ord describes his focus as "the big picture questions facing humanity." [ 9 ] He is a trustee of the Centre for Effective Altruism [ 10 ] and of the non-profit organization 80,000 Hours , resear
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