An assessment has identified twelve of the most dangerous global threats that could result in death for humans. These include an asteroid collision and nuclear war. Together with Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, the Global Challenges Foundation has narrowed the list of potential ways that the world might end down to 12. Although many catastrophes such as an asteroid strike or supervolcano eruption are out of our control, other events, including extreme climate changes and uncontrollable artificial intelligence, could also be caused by human activities. “12 Threats to Human Civilization” (citation below), claims that their report was the first to list global risks and have impacts that could be described as infinite. These risks can be interconnected in many ways. The situation can often be compared to a series of dominoes. If one falls, all follow. Small impacts may be enough to start the process of different risk interactions. Image Source: Global Challenges Foundation. The Report’s authors stated that their goal is to encourage action and dialog, as well as increased use of risk assessment methods. The idea that there are many global risks that threaten the foundation of civilisation in the 21st century has been well-accepted by the scientific community and studied at several top universities. The authors stated that there was no consensus on how to deal with this set of risks, and instead they should be turned into opportunities. The risks were divided into the following four groups: Current Risks b) Nuclear War. c) Ecological Catastrophe. d) Global Pandemic. e) Global System Collapse. 2. Exogenic risks: These are the hazards that can be found or are caused by the Earth’s surface. a) Major Asteroid Collision. b) Supervolcano. 3. Emerging risks: a. Synthetic biology. b) Nanotechnology. c) Artificial Intelligence. d) Uncertain risks 4. Global Policy Risk: Global Governance Failures. The authors stated in their Executive Summary that “a variety of global threats threaten the foundation of civilization” and are being studied by a range of top universities. However, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed and opportunities for solutions. Citation: “12 Human civilization at risk,” Global Challenges Foundation, University of Oxford.
