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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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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australian philosopher (born 1979)

| Toby Ord |
| --- |
| [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Toby_Ord.jpg/250px-Toby_Ord.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toby_Ord.jpg)<br>Ord in 2019 |
| Born | Toby David Godfrey Ord<br>July 1979 (age 46)<br>[Melbourne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne "Melbourne"), Australia |
| Spouse | Bernadette Young |
|  |
| Education |
| Education | - [University of Melbourne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Melbourne "University of Melbourne")<br>- [Balliol College, Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balliol_College,_Oxford "Balliol College, Oxford")<br>- [Christ Church, Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church,_Oxford "Christ Church, Oxford") |
| [Thesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesis "Thesis") | [_Beyond Action: Applying Consequentialism to Decision Making and Motivation_](https://www.amirrorclear.net/academic/papers/beyond-action.pdf) (2009) |
| [Doctoral advisors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctoral_advisor "Doctoral advisor") | - [John Broome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Broome_(philosopher) "John Broome (philosopher)")<br>- [Derek Parfit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Parfit "Derek Parfit") |
| Philosophical work |
| Era | [Contemporary philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_philosophy "Contemporary philosophy") |
| [School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_schools_of_philosophy "List of schools of philosophy") | [Western philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_philosophy "Western philosophy") |
| Institutions | - [Balliol College, Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balliol_College,_Oxford "Balliol College, Oxford")<br>- [Giving What We Can](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giving_What_We_Can "Giving What We Can")<br>- [Future of Humanity Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_Humanity_Institute "Future of Humanity Institute")<br>- [Centre for Effective Altruism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_Effective_Altruism "Centre for Effective Altruism")<br>- [80,000 Hours](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80,000_Hours "80,000 Hours") |
| Main interests | - [Normative ethics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normative_ethics "Normative ethics")<br>- [practical ethics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_ethics "Practical ethics")<br>- [existential risk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_risk "Existential risk")<br>- moral uncertainty |
| Notable ideas | - [Effective altruism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_altruism "Effective altruism")<br>- [Longtermism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longtermism "Longtermism")<br>- Moral trade<br>- Moral uncertainty<br>- [Reversal test](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversal_test "Reversal test") |
|  |
| Website | [www.tobyord.com](https://www.tobyord.com/

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