Existential risk studies (ERS) is a field of studies focused on the definition and theorization of "existential risks", its ethical implications and the related strategies of long-term survival.[1][2][3][4] Existential risks are diversely defined as global kinds of calamity that have the capacity of inducing the extinction of intelligent earthling life, such as humans, or, at least, a severe limitation of their potential, as defined by ERS theorists.[5][6] The field development and expansion can be divided in waves according to its conceptual changes as well as its evolving relationship with related fields and theories, such as futures studies, disaster studies, AI safety, effective altruism and longtermism.[2]
The historical precursors of existential risks studies can be found in early 19th-century thought around human extinction and the more recent models and theories of global catastrophic risk that date mainly to the Cold War period, especially the thinking around a hypothetical nuclear holocaust.[7] ERS emerged as a distinctive and unified field in the early 2000s,[2] experiencing a rapid growth in the academy[8] and also within the general public with the publication of popular-oriented books.[1] The field has also fostered the creation of a number of foundations, research centers and think tanks, some of which received substantial philanthropic funding[1] and notability within prestigious universities.