The World's Existential Risk
Some of Britain’s finest minds from Oxford and Cambridge are drawing up a “doomsday list” of catastrophic events that could devastate the world, pose a threat to civilisation and might even lead to the extinction of the human species.
Leading scholars have established a centre for the study of “existential risk” which aims to present politicians and the public with a list of disasters that could threaten the future of the world as we know it.
"....we are less secure than we think. It seems to me that our political masters, should worry far more about scenarios that have thankfully not yet happened – events that could arise as unexpectedly as the 2008 financial crisis, but which could cause world-wide disruption,” said Lord Rees of Ludlow, the astronomer royal and past president of the Royal Society.
The end? Scenarios
Cyber attacks
One of the biggest threats is some kind of attack on the computers controlling the electricity grids around the world. Loss of electrical power would have immediate and possibly severe consequences if it could not be restored quickly.
Bioterrorism
Large infrastructure is required to build and deliver nuclear weapons, but genetically engineered harmful microbes or viruses could be developed in a relatively simple laboratory.
Food shortages
The modern food industry is based on “just in time” delivery with little or no stockpiling. Failure of the information networks controlling this could quickly lead to shortages and food riots.
Pandemics
The increasing mobility of the human species makes it more likely that a new, emerging infection could quickly spread around the world via air travel before a vaccine is developed to combat it.
Malign computers
Some experts fear that increasingly intelligent computers may one day turn “hostile” and not perform as they were designed.
Runaway climate catastrophe
Climatologists fear that, as the climate is polluted with increasing quantities of carbon dioxide, it may pass a tipping point after which feedback effects cause it to get warmer and warmer.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/if-the-end-of-the-world-were-n...
And religion not mentioned once, although it could be a factor in attack/sabotage scenario, so let's keep it out of your responses....if you have any.
Oh, and don't let it worry you and enjoy your weekend
It's difficult to lessen the burden of prejudice ...
You seem to be obsessed with religion :O)
As for the article. Valid points. I do believe that it requires technology and state of the art labs to develop bio-weapons and deploy them
Maybe we should program religion into intelligent machines so they don't kill us.... On wait, they will start to think only they are the true believers and they will wipe us out
That's very important to focus on the present ....
"Some experts fear that increasingly intelligent computers may one day turn “hostile” and not perform as they were designed."
i think i've seen this in a movie. it was a japanese animated film i think. the one the matrix ripped off some of their concepts from. a computer virus developed and acted like a soul or something.
enjoy the present day with your loved ones rather to worry about the future...............:)
idle mind .........