Curiosity
Humanity Faces Extinction Says Team Of Really Smart Guys
Humanity Faces Extinction Says Team Of Really Smart Guys
A well-educated team consisting of philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University have documented what they believe are “species-obliterating risks”.
Their findings are presented in a research paper intended for use by international policymakers.
Unlike other “end of the world” scenarios which have a scientific basis, the group’s director Dr. Nick Bostrom, a native of Sweden, says that the threats they document may result in the end of mankind within this century if humans do not “get it right”.
Dr. Bostrom does not see the extinction-level event as being caused by natural disasters or plagues because mankind has already survived many of those over time. Dr. Bostrom doesn’t even believe nuclear war would wipe out mankind.
Instead, Dr. Bostrom believes the threat is from our technology. The threat sounds like something out of the “Terminator” series of movies, but Dr. Bostrom believes that the rapid growth of technology, synthetic biology, nanotechnology are being done without a proper understanding of the consequences.
This type of “unpredictability” is what Dr. Bostrom believes can lead to the extinction of all of mankind. Dr. Bostrom believes it is the unintended consequences to technological advances that post mankind’s biggest threat.
Earlier this week, a political pressure group, known as the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots was calling for a total ban on the future development of robotic weapons that could kill humans without being ordered to do so by a human operator.
The group, headed by Nobel Prize winner Jody Williams believes the robotic weapons will soon become reality and pose a threat to the human rights of all the people of the world.
Campaigners believe weapons development will soon bring about weapons capable of making decisions without human interference of which people are targeted by the weapons.
What do you think? Is humanity facing extinction?
On The Web:
How are humans going to become extinct?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22002530
