# 12 Risks that threaten human civilization



## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

A report that lists out 12 risks that threaten human civilization.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

A summery would be nice without each of us downloading 13 MB's.


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## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

hiwall said:


> A summery would be nice without each of us downloading 13 MB's.


For crying out loud Hiwall, I give you the ultimate 12 things to watch out for and you bitch because you have to download them? How are you going to feel when the family is facing their impending doom and you have to tell them you were too cheap to download a 13 mb .pdf file? Boy, I wouldn't want to be you.. 

I know how "link adverse" this crowd is, so I downloaded it (at my peril) and then re-uploaded it so you could remain safe. But here's the link if you wish to follow it. LINK
http://globalchallenges.org/wp-content/uploads/12-Risks-with-infinite-impact-full-report-1.pdf


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

squerly said:


> For crying out loud Hiwall, I give you the ultimate 12 things to watch out for and you bitch because you have to download them? How are you going to feel when the family is facing their impending doom and you have to tell them you were too cheap to download a 13 mb .pdf file? Boy, I wouldn't want to be you..
> 
> I know how "link adverse" this crowd is, so I downloaded it (at my peril) and then re-uploaded it so you could remain safe. But here's the link if you wish to follow it. LINK
> http://globalchallenges.org/wp-content/uploads/12-Risks-with-infinite-impact-full-report-1.pdf


We have the link. We don't need another one. It's considered common sense and being polite to copy and paste the article you want people respond to. You should be able to respond to such a request without foaming at the mouth and rolling on the ground.


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## bigg777 (Mar 18, 2013)

I guess one of those 12 threats is the ire of a fellow PS member!:facepalm:


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

S, it's uncharacteristic of you to take such a position.

There are those of us who have to carefully watch our download allowance. In addition, there are those of us who think we're all one click away from downloading malware. This is why it's appropriate / convenient / considerate to include the article in the post along with the link.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I wish I hadn't downloaded it. Its 212 pages! I'm farsighted and don't have my new glasses. The strain on my eyes to even think of reading this just to find out what the 12 risks are...!



Edit:

My eyes were crossing when I tried to read the article. I didn't realize till this evening (hours later) that I had spelling errors in my post.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

*Cliff notes*

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news.../the-12-threats-to-human-civilization-ranked/



> 1. Artificial intelligence
> 
> Why it's bad: Machines with an extreme amount of technology could be difficult to control. They may hoard resources to boost their own intelligence, leaving little or nothing for humankind. That would be very bad for us.
> 
> ...


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

I refuse to click on blind links.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

BillS said:


> We have the link. We don't need another one. It's considered common sense and being polite to copy and paste the article you want people respond to. You should be able to respond to such a request without foaming at the mouth and rolling on the ground.


Its OK Bill, squerly was just kidding when he responded to my post.


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## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

BillS said:


> We have the link. We don't need another one. It's considered common sense and being polite to copy and paste the article you want people respond to. You should be able to respond to such a request without foaming at the mouth and rolling on the ground.


Nobody's foaming at the mouth Bills. There's a winking smiley at the end of that post, meaning I'm kidding.



Country Living said:


> S, it's uncharacteristic of you to take such a position.
> 
> There are those of us who have to carefully watch our download allowance. In addition, there are those of us who think we're all one click away from downloading malware. This is why it's appropriate / convenient / considerate to include the article in the post along with the link.


Yes, I understand. But the article is over 200 pages long and it just wasn't feasible to post it. I thought it was a reasonably good information or I wouldn't have taken the time to upload it to PS.



Genevieve said:


> I refuse to click on blind links.


And knowing that, I downloaded the article (from its original location) and then uploaded it to PS, so that nobody had to click on any unfamiliar or unknown links.

Sorry if the article wasn't what you wanted or expected.


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## azbison (Jul 21, 2014)

The wonderful folks at the Washington Post notwithstanding, I'm not sure I agree with their odds system. If I were to handicap it, I would rate it more like this... 

1. Artificial intelligence

IF they build a machine that can think for itself, and IF it decides we(humanity) is a problem, I can see an issue. Tempered with the fact that Moore's law has shown to be true over the past 40 years. Odds of negatively impacting normal life in the next 100 years, 5%


2. Unknown consequences

Not sure why this is number 2, I would think it's a catch all. However, GMO's, genetic engineering, corporate greed, political intrigue, I can see this negatively impacting life over the next 100 years at 25%

3. Synthetic biology

Possible, but improbable. I would add this to global pandemic for natural causes and give it 100 years odds at 10%

4. Extreme climate change
I think we may see micro climate change, but not the systemic that Al Gore keeps harping on. Zero chance.

5. Nanotechnology

Combine this with AI

6. Nuclear war

I think the Washington Post missed this. With the recent Iran deal, and Russia moving into Syria, I see the odds of this happening in the next 100 years, at least in a limited engagement at 25% to 50%

7. Major asteroid impact

Makes good movies, and if it happens, nothing we can do. No odds.

8. Global pandemic

Combined with Synthetic biology

9. Super-volcano

The worry index: Only a 0.00003 percent chance, the math supports this...

10. Ecological collapse

That's why we have the EPA, Right??

11. Global system collapse

I believe we are marching into this right now. Odds of this happening in the next 100 years, 85%

12. Bad global governance

Hello! Is there a government on the planet that has a handle on things? This and an economic collapse, and war are the most likely things to happen. Bad Governance, happening now.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

I don't know why a pandemic ranked a #8 on the other list unless it's because the author qualified it to be "global". I guess they feel as long as it can be contained to a defined region it's not an issue. Until it spreads outside the region and at that point hands will be thrown up into the air in complete disbelief because it wasn't supposed to spread and they'll spend more time placing blame that containing the disease. 

I believe a pandemic is one of the most probable threats and we have planned accordingly.


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

Country Living said:


> I believe a pandemic is one of the most probable threats and we have planned accordingly.


I agree. A Global Pandemic has occurred before while all the rest haven't at least not on a global scale.

I also put an EMP as a higher probability as well as a deliberate computer attack designed to destroy infrastructure or equipment.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

these are my concerns.but yet.not necessarily in that order..

extreme climate change-it's happened before..so why not again?
global pandemic..look how things are/were going with ebola..
global system collapse-power grid failure.
unknown consequences-maybe?
future bad global governance
emp,natural and man made alike


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

azbison said:


> 11. Global system collapse
> 
> I believe we are marching into this right now. Odds of this happening in the next 100 years, 85%
> 
> ...


That was my take on it. I was rolling my eyes going through the list until I got to #11. Of course, #12 will be a major contributor to making #11 a reality.

I have always felt an economic collapse will do us in... 
it'll likely cause failure of all the powerplants, food supply chains, fuel depots & pipeline companies, etc.

Take aware our "cushy" way of life & the whole system crumbles as (while) people learn old (lost) skills.


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## 21601mom (Jan 15, 2013)

For #12, based on my observations over the last seven years the odds are at nearly 100%.


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