All terms
Safety & Alignment
Existential Risk
The concern that advanced AI could pose a catastrophic, even civilization-ending, threat.
Definition
Existential risk, often shortened to x-risk, is the concern that highly capable AI could cause catastrophic, possibly irreversible harm to humanity if it grows powerful while poorly aligned with human values. It is a serious focus for some researchers and policymakers, and a point of sharp disagreement about how likely or near it is.