Governments and other important institutions regularly need to make complex, high-stake decisions based on the judgments of just a handful of people. At the same time, research shows that people’s thinking is often colored by logical errors and coincidences. This can be improved using more systematic processes and techniques. Raising the quality of decision-making in key institutions can increase society’s ability to solve existing problems and identify new ones. By extension, it can also reduce the likelihood of global catastrophic risks.
Very few people are working directly to improve decision-making in key institutions, indicating that further efforts may be valuable. This is a promising option if you can conduct research into new ways to make better decisions, or are well suited to work in influential institutions where you can implement the methods we already know of. This is also a good option if you’re not sure which problem is the most important, since improved decision making can be applied to almost any area.