Most likely cause of human extinction

[vivalarevolución]

For awhile now, I've though that reduction of the planet's ability to support human civilization would be the most likely cause of human extinction.  Although I think it's more likely that human population would be greatly reduced, not eliminated, in that scenario. 

Lately I've been thinking that AI is a bigger threat, considering it could decide that human beings are a threat to its existence and eliminate us.

What do you guys think will cause human extinction?  Are we going to wait this out until the sun dies out?

[HoffmanMyster]

Extinction? That's a tough one.

I think that we will be the cause of our own near-extinction, but I don't think we will wipe ourselves out completely.

[PunksDead]

I'm pretty level headed guy...

During hurricane Sandy I lost my mind.

We were without power for over a week. Phone was dead after 2 days and no contact with the outside world. Busy streets and shops pitch black. Cigarettes were running low and all my $$$ was in my bank account so even if a shop opened I couldn't pay for anything. Shot got apocalyptic real quick as rumors of gas stations getting gas surfaced and lines of cars waited outside them. Fist fights over gas and food, I came close to throwing a chair through the liquor store for cigs and booze to wait it out more. Im lucky it only lasted a week for me, psychosis was setting in.

So I believe if the apocalypse does come that wipes resources, we will turn into a mad max situation and eventually kill each other for basic essentials

[baldgye]

That's one of the most pathetic things I've ever read. Good thing that you've realised how retarded your addiction is and knocked it on the head, eh?


If you look at how resilient life is, I think it would take a lot to totally wipe us out.

[fohat.digs]

Disparities at all levels of existence will make cooperation and avoidance of war more difficult rather than easier.

As a child of the 1950s-1960s, I grew up with a hope (but what I thought was an understanding) that the human race was on a trajectory of mental and spiritual growth, upwards development, cooperation, and peace.

The decade of the 1970s began with hippies and ended with Reagan. Since Reagan took office, the downward spiral of greed, close-mindedness, and hatred has accelerated and made the world a paradise for the top 20% and a living hell for the bottom 80%.

If I could name the 3 largest threats to human existence today, I would name (1) financial control of politics to concentrate wealth and power even further than it already is, (2) lack of education in general and consolidation and control of media and information in particular, and (3) aggressive religious-based assertions, predominately spreading outwards from the Middle East.

[tp4tissue]

Humans are fundamentally Animals.

However complex and "risen" we believe our motives,  they're actually quite simple..

Take a step back, and you'd see that ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you do is towards protraction of the population ..  basicallllly sex... more sex,  sex in more places, m0re sex,  and now, elon musk wants sex-in-space..



So, as to AI..     I've discussed this before on Geekhack, perhaps you've missed it.


AI, will be humanity's salvation.


It is Very hard to have sex in space,  we will not evolve fast enough to do this efficiently, and it's very very impractical to send human being, essentially, large bags of goop into space for exploration.


So, what's much more likely to happen..  is building cybernetic brains, or servers, that will house human consciousness..

A machine that will inherit the human and therefore life's motives,  and have it explore the galaxy in name of man.


The earth will simply be exhausted to create this Mechanical child of ours..  and that will be the end of that..


Maybe one day,  it will come back and visit us, assuming there are still a few of us around..



but given how often human childs visit parents,  there's no need to bet on it.

[tbc]

Apple Inc.

someone told me a story about bad mojo from eating an apple.

since Apple's logo already has a bite taken out of it...we're doomed.  right?

[ANightOnCloudNine]

I'm pretty level headed guy...

During hurricane Sandy I lost my mind.

We were without power for over a week. Phone was dead after 2 days and no contact with the outside world. Busy streets and shops pitch black. Cigarettes were running low and all my $$$ was in my bank account so even if a shop opened I couldn't pay for anything. Shot got apocalyptic real quick as rumors of gas stations getting gas surfaced and lines of cars waited outside them. Fist fights over gas and food, I came close to throwing a chair through the liquor store for cigs and booze to wait it out more. Im lucky it only lasted a week for me, psychosis was setting in.

So I believe if the apocalypse does come that wipes resources, we will turn into a mad max situation and eventually kill each other for basic essentials

Thanks for the insight, **** sounds scary.

[GenKaan]

1: Multi resistant air born virus/bacteria
At some point antibiotics will stop working at the rate we are using them. Since our population is getting more and more dense the spread of something with incubation period that is more than 3-4 days with out symptoms could have the potential to wipe out a lot of people. If its engineered as a weapon as well, the potential is very large. Just target an international airport and... BAM 50-65% population reduction

2: Discovering of fusion and abuse of its potential
More or less unavoidable given enough time. When the amount of power potential its too easy to blow up the planet

3: AI
Again unavoidable technology that will be our last invention. The big question is if it view itself as a peace keeper and think humans can be a part of the planet with out destroying it. Or that our nature is counterproductive to the rich flora of life on this planet. I think either way its going to force us to change a lot and quick. HOPEFULLY if we cant be a part of this planet it would give us the option to move to a different planet

[xondat]

Anything to do with pollution really scares me, but that's all the facts that I read about ocean dead zones and animal agriculture polluting worse than all transport combined. We can't really estimate what will happen when it gets more out of hand I guess.