Adin Richards
Adin Richards is a researcher and grantmaker on the biosecurity team at Coefficient Giving.
Previously, he worked as a Research Analyst at Coefficient Giving, a Biotechnology Fellow at the Institute for Progress, and a Research Assistant in a Paleoclimate Lab. Adin has an AB in Geology-Biology and Public Health from Brown University and is currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins.
posts
Prioritizing Environment-to-Human Biological Threats
Adin Richards · · 7 min read
Pathogens that replicate in the environment and transmit to humans pose a uniquely direct existential risk, far more so than those that spread person-to-person or can't grow outside a host. Of the possible exposure routes, airborne transmission is by far the hardest to defend against.
It May Be Possible to Improvise A High Grade Bioshelter
Adin Richards · · 24 min read
Surviving an environment-to-human pathogen would require widespread protection from airborne exposure, indoors and out. We think this may be achievable using improvised bioshelters and PPE made from household materials, though this hypothesis still needs more testing.
Considerations for PPE Strategy
Adin Richards · · 20 min read
A misaligned AI or human-AI group could attempt takeover by releasing a highly transmissible engineered pathogen. I discuss what a PPE strategy aimed at this threat model needs to get right.
Could humanity survive a total loss of agriculture?
Adin Richards · · 1 min read
I evaluate whether non-agricultural food technologies could be scaled up fast enough to feed humanity if there was an extreme attack on the crop production.