Views

Here I list some of my fundamental beliefs as they relate to environmentalism and global catastrophic risks. Please note that my personal beliefs do not reflect the beliefs or positions of any organization. 

I believe in the intrinsic value of other species. I also believe in finding mutually beneficial solutions to problems, such as cost-effective energy efficiency that benefits the environment and humans.

Global Catastrophic and Existential Risks

I also have a very strong interest in global catastrophic risks and existential risks, which includes some of mankind's greatest threats: extreme climate change, emerging technologies, disease outbreak, financial collapse, nuclear winter, high-energy physics experiments, totalitarianism, and other issues. Global catastrophic risks are risks that could result in serious, global damage to humans, whereas existential risks could cause human extinction. 

I am interested in the risks presented by emerging technologies like bioengineering, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Emerging technologies can be used to decrease the chances of other catastrophes (e.g. bioengineered organisms that slurp up carbon and thus mitigate climate change) but also can cause catastrophes themselves (e.g. a deadly bioengineered organism released by terrorists); these "risk-risk tradeoffs" require careful consideration and planning. Furthermore, while dangerous emerging technologies in one country put the entire world at risk, emerging technologies are barely regulated at the international level. 

Remember -- friends don't let friends passively increase the odds that a global catastrophic risk or existential risk will cause serious, global damage to humans or add Homo sapiens to the list of the 99.9 percent of species to have ever existed that are now extinct.

Interdisciplinary education

I started on this path by majoring in Engineering Science at Penn State. I got a background in nearly all types of engineering. I define a super liberal arts education as taking a course or reading a textbook in all the fundamental areas of study. For example, in the social sciences, it includes psychology, sociology, political science, anthropology, and economics. Then I define an ultra liberal arts education as adding on the applied fields like law, medicine, and several types of engineering. I am getting close to completing the ultra liberal arts education.