Do You Believe We Are On The Eve Of Destruction
Do You Believe We Are On The Eve Of Destruction
The war in Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conflict, the potential of a nuclear arms race, and the climate crisis, political issues, race hate, threats of nuclear war, global system collapse, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence
Footnote #1:
Global System Collapse
This is a vague one, but it basically means the world's economic and political systems collapse, by way of something like "a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment, a breakdown in normal commerce caused by hyperinflation, or even an economically caused sharp increase in the death rate and perhaps even a decline in population."
That said, it's unclear whether these things would pose an existential threat. Humanity has survived past economic downturns. Even massive ones like the Great Depression. An economic collapse would have to be considerably more massive than that to risk human extinction or to kill enough people that the survivors couldn't recover.
Footnote #2:
Synthetic Biology
This isn't a risk today, but it could be in the future. Synthetic biology is an emerging scientific field that focuses on the creation of biological systems, including artificial life.
The hypothetical danger is that the tools of synthetic biology could be used to engineer a supervirus or superbacteria that is more infectious and capable of mass destruction than one that evolved naturally. Most likely, such an organism would be created as a biological weapon, either for a military or a non-state actor.
The risk is that such a weapon would either be used in warfare or a terrorist attack, or else leak from a lab (Covid 19 Possible) accidentally. Either scenario could wind up threatening humanity as a whole if the bioweapon spreads beyond the initial target and becomes a global problem. As with regular pandemics, actual extinction would only happen if survivors were unable to adapt to a giant population decline.
Footnote #3:
Artificial Intelligence
There is a report out there that rasies concerns with the possibility of exponential advances in artificial intelligence. Once computer programs grow advanced enough to teach themselves computer science, they could use that knowledge to improve themselves, causing a spiral of ever-increasing superintelligence.
If AI remains friendly to humans, this would be a very good thing indeed, and has the prospect to speed up research in a variety of domains. The risk is that AI has little use for humans and either out of malevolence or perceived necessity destroys us all.
The war in Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conflict, the potential of a nuclear arms race, and the climate crisis, political issues, race hate, threats of nuclear war, global system collapse, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence
Footnote #1:
Global System Collapse
This is a vague one, but it basically means the world's economic and political systems collapse, by way of something like "a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment, a breakdown in normal commerce caused by hyperinflation, or even an economically caused sharp increase in the death rate and perhaps even a decline in population."
That said, it's unclear whether these things would pose an existential threat. Humanity has survived past economic downturns. Even massive ones like the Great Depression. An economic collapse would have to be considerably more massive than that to risk human extinction or to kill enough people that the survivors couldn't recover.
Footnote #2:
Synthetic Biology
This isn't a risk today, but it could be in the future. Synthetic biology is an emerging scientific field that focuses on the creation of biological systems, including artificial life.
The hypothetical danger is that the tools of synthetic biology could be used to engineer a supervirus or superbacteria that is more infectious and capable of mass destruction than one that evolved naturally. Most likely, such an organism would be created as a biological weapon, either for a military or a non-state actor.
The risk is that such a weapon would either be used in warfare or a terrorist attack, or else leak from a lab (Covid 19 Possible) accidentally. Either scenario could wind up threatening humanity as a whole if the bioweapon spreads beyond the initial target and becomes a global problem. As with regular pandemics, actual extinction would only happen if survivors were unable to adapt to a giant population decline.
Footnote #3:
Artificial Intelligence
There is a report out there that rasies concerns with the possibility of exponential advances in artificial intelligence. Once computer programs grow advanced enough to teach themselves computer science, they could use that knowledge to improve themselves, causing a spiral of ever-increasing superintelligence.
If AI remains friendly to humans, this would be a very good thing indeed, and has the prospect to speed up research in a variety of domains. The risk is that AI has little use for humans and either out of malevolence or perceived necessity destroys us all.
56-60, F
