Why AI risks are the world’s most pressing problems | 80,000 Hours

Search for:

Career guide
AI careers
Podcast
Videos
Job board
Resources
- Problem profiles What are the world's most pressing problems?
  
  See all →
  
  Why focus on AI →
  Top areas to work on
  
  Power-seeking AI systems
  
  Extreme power concentration
  
  Engineered pandemics
  
  Great power conflict
  
  Factory farming
  
  Wild animal suffering
  
  Global health
  
  Climate change
  
  Emerging challenges
  
  Moral status of digital minds
  
  Gradual disempowerment
  
  'S-risks'
  
  AI-enhanced decision making
  
  Space governance
  
  Catastrophic AI misuse
  
  More problem profiles →
  Why focus on AI →
- Career reviews Write-ups on high-impact career paths.
  
  See all →
  AI-focused career paths
  
  AI governance and policy
  
  AI safety technical research
  
  Information security in high-impact areas
  
  Expert in AI hardware
  
  China-related AI safety and governance
  
  Other top paths
  
  Journalism
  
  Biorisk research, strategy, and policy
  
  Be a founder
  
  Earn to give
  
  Help build the effective altruism community
  
  Research into global priorities
  
  Nuclear weapons safety and security
  
  Operations in high-impact organisations
  
  US electoral politics
  
  More career reviews →
- Foundations What's the philosophy behind our advice?
  
  Key topics
  
  Your career is your most important decision
  
  A definition of impact
  
  On problem selection
  
  Why prioritise existential risks
  
  Effective solutions
  
  Making a big contribution
  
  Differences in productivity
  
  Comparative advantage
  
  Being ambitious
  
  Coordination
  
  Exploration
  
  Harmful jobs
  
  Fundamentals of career planning
  
  See the full series →
See all →

Why focus on AI →
Top areas to work on

Power-seeking AI systems

Extreme power concentration

Engineered pandemics

Great power conflict

Factory farming

Wild animal suffering

Global health

Climate change

Emerging challenges

Moral status of digital minds

Gradual disempowerment

'S-risks'

AI-enhanced decision making

Space governance

Catastrophic AI misuse

More problem profiles →
Why focus on AI →
See all →
AI-focused career paths

AI governance and policy

AI safety technical research

Information security in high-impact areas

Expert in AI hardware

China-related AI safety and governance

Other top paths

Journalism

Biorisk research, strategy, and policy

Be a founder

Earn to give

Help build the effective altruism community

Research into global priorities

Nuclear weapons safety and security

Operations in high-impact organisations

US electoral politics

More career reviews →
Key topics

Your career is your most important decision

A definition of impact

On problem selection

Why prioritise existential risks

Effective solutions

Making a big contribution

Differences in productivity

Comparative advantage

Being ambitious

Coordination

Exploration

Harmful jobs

Fundamentals of career planning

See the full series →
Get 1-1 advice
Get 1-1 advice

New releases
All articles
Meet people
Give feedback
About

Home World problems Advanced AI poses the world’s most pressing problems. Here’s why.

Search for:

New releases
All articles
Meet people
Give feedback
About

Our new book, a ridiculously in-depth guide to a fulfilling career, is out May 2026. Preorder now

Advanced AI poses the world’s most pressing problems. Here’s why.

Copy and paste this URL into your WordPress site to embed

<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="5cu2A5cLOT"><a href="https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/artificial-intelligence/">Advanced AI poses the world&#8217;s most pressing problems. Here&#8217;s&nbsp;why.</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/artificial-intelligence/embed/#?secret=5cu2A5cLOT" width="600" height="400" title="&#8220;Advanced AI poses the world&#8217;s most pressing problems. Here&#8217;s&nbsp;why.&#8221; &#8212; 80,000 Hours" data-secret="5cu2A5cLOT" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">
/* <![CDATA[ */
/**
 * WordPress inline HTML embed
 *
 * @since 4.4.0
 * @output wp-includes/js/wp-embed.js
 *
 * Single line comments should not be used since they will break
 * the script when inlined in get_post_embed_html(), specifically
 * when the comments are not stripped out due to SCRIPT_DEBUG
 * being turned on.
 */
(function ( window, document ) {
	'use strict';

	/* Abort for ancient browsers. */
	if ( ! document.querySelector || ! window.addEventListener || typeof URL === 'undefined' ) {
		return;
	}

	/** @namespace wp */
	window.wp = window.wp || {};

	/* Abort if script was already executed. */
	if ( !! window.wp.receiveEmbedMessage ) {
		return;
	}

	/**
	 * Receive embed message.
	 *
	 * @param {MessageEvent} e
	 */
	window.wp.receiveEmbedMessage = function( e ) {
		var data = e.data;

		/* Verify shape of message. */
		if (
			! ( data || data.secret || data.message || data.value ) ||
			/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test( data.secret )
		) {
			return;
		}

		var iframes = document.querySelectorAll( 'iframe[data-secret="' + data.secret + '"]' ),
			blockquotes = document.querySelectorAll( 'blockquote[data-secret="' + data.secret + '"]' ),
			allowedProtocols = new RegExp( '^https?:$', 'i' ),
			i, source, height, sourceURL, targetURL;

		for ( i = 0; i < blockquotes.length; i++ ) {
			blockquotes[ i ].style.display = 'none';
		}

		for ( i = 0; i < iframes.length; i++ ) {
			source = iframes[ i ];

			if ( e.source !== source.contentWindow ) {
				continue;
			}

			source.removeAttribute( 'style' );

			if ( 'height' === data.message ) {
				/* Resize the iframe on request. */
				height = parseInt( data.value, 10 );
				if ( height > 1000 ) {
					height = 1000;
				} else if ( ~~height < 200 ) {
					height = 200;
				}

				source.height = height;
			} else if ( 'link' === data.message ) {
				/* Link to a specific URL on request. */
				sourceURL = new URL( source.getAttribute( 'src' ) );
				targetURL = new URL( data.value );

				if (
					allowedProtocols.test( targetURL.protocol ) &&
					targetURL.host === sourceURL.host &&
					document.activeElement === source
				) {
					window.top.location.href = data.value;
				}
			}
		}
	};

	function onLoad() {
		var iframes = document.querySelectorAll( 'iframe.wp-embedded-content' ),
			i, source, secret;

		for ( i = 0; i < iframes.length; i++ ) {
			/** @var {IframeElement} */
			source = iframes[ i ];

			secret = source.getAttribute( 'data-secret' );
			if ( ! secret ) {
				/* Add secret to iframe */
				secret = Math.random().toString( 36 ).substring( 2, 12 );
				source.src += '#?secret=' + secret;
				source.setAttribute( 'data-secret', secret );
			}

			/*
			 * Let post embed window know that the parent is ready for receiving the height message, in case the iframe
			 * loaded before wp-embed.js was loaded. When the ready message is received by the post embed window, the
			 * window will then (re-)send the height message right away.
			 */
			source.contentWindow.postMessage( {
				message: 'ready',
				secret: secret
			}, '*' );
		}
	}

	window.addEventListener( 'message', window.wp.receiveEmbedMessage, false );
	document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', onLoad, false );
})( window, document );
//# sourceURL=https://80000hours.org/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.js
/* ]]> */
</script>

Copy and paste this code into your site to embed

Join our newsletter

Get weekly updates on our research, plus jobs and other opportunities to get involved.

Get 1-1 advice

Want to tackle a pressing global problem with your career?

Speak to an advisor

Our research

Career guide
AGI careers
List of world problems
List of top skills
List of careers
Foundations
Future generations
Artificial intelligence
Anonymous advice
College advice
New releases
All our research
Translations of our content

Follow us

Podcast
80k After Hours
Our videos
Newsletter
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn group
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube

Take action

Preorder our new career guide
Find a job
Get 1-1 advice
Make a career plan

About us

Why 80,000 Hours?
Meet the team
Our impact and credibility
Our mistakes
Our donors
Contact us
Support us

80,000 Hours Limited is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (with registered company number 15746854).

Please contact us to suggest ideas, improvements, or corrections.

We do our best to provide useful information, but how you use the information is up to you. We don’t take responsibility for any loss that results from the use of information on the site. Please consult our full legal disclaimer, website privacy notice, and terms of use. See also our cookie notice and adjust your .

© 2026 – all rights reserved. Please contact us if you wish to redistribute, translate, or adapt this work.

Discuss this page