Designer Viruses, Exotic Weapons, Synthetic Biology, Hurtling Asteroids... Even Transhumanists Are Asking If Man Is Prepared For The End Of The World As We Know It

0 views

Skip to first unread message

Heaven soon

unread,

Jul 26, 2010, 8:30:14 PM7/26/10

to Heavensoon

Designer Viruses, Exotic Weapons, Synthetic Biology,
Hurtling Asteroids... Even Transhumanists Are Asking If
Man Is Prepared For The End Of The World As We Know It

Scientists have good reason to be weary of fanciful speculation over the safety of their experiments, but some academics claim there are valuable lessons to be learned from the LHC experience, ones that could save us from more realistic catastrophes before the century is out. Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, says that advances in fields such as weapons technology, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology (which has already given researchers the tools to create viruses from scratch) could lead to what he calls "existential threats". These are catastrophes that play out on an unprecedented scale, ones that have the potential to bring an end to the human story, either by wiping us out completely, or by "permanently and drastically destroying our future potential". The creation of a lethal synthetic virus that kills on a global scale is but one potential risk that Bostrom highlights. Breakthroughs in physics could lead to new weapons that increase the dangers of war, he says, while advances in computing could see the advent of machines that can improve their own intelligence, and surpass that of humans. Even attempts to manipulate the atmosphere to combat global warming might backfire and trigger a global disaster.