This week, thousands of TikTok users got involved in an apocalyptic debate as viral predictions of the "Rapture" spread panic online.
However, for the missionaries who predicted it, the end of days has already passed without incident.
Now, experts have revealed what the apocalypse will really look like.
And the grim reality of humanity's extinction is far sadder than any biblical story of destruction.
From the deadly threat of outlaw AI or nuclear war to the imminent danger of engineered bioweapons, humans themselves are creating the greatest threats to their own survival.
Dr. Thomas Moynihan, researcher at Cambridge University's Center for the Study of Existential Risk, told the Daily Mail:
“Apocalypse is an old idea associated with religion, but extinction is a suddenly modern concept, based on scientific knowledge of nature. When we talk about extinction, we imagine the human species disappearing and the universe continuing on indefinitely, without us. This is very different from what believers imagine with the Rapture or Judgment Day.”
Nuclear war
Scientists who study the destruction of humanity speak of “existential threats” – dangers that could wipe out the human species.
Since the moment humans learned to split the atom, one of the most serious existential threats has been nuclear war.
During the Cold War, the fear of nuclear war was so great that governments seriously planned for life after the total destruction of society.
The risk decreased after the fall of the Soviet Union, but experts now believe the threat is increasing.
Earlier this year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock one second closer to midnight, citing the increased risk of a nuclear exchange.
The nine countries that possess nuclear weapons have a total of 12,331 nuclear warheads, with Russia holding enough to destroy 7% of urban land globally.
However, the main concern is that humanity could be wiped out by just a very small fraction of these weapons.
Dr. Moynihan says:
“New research shows that even a relatively regional nuclear exchange could cause global climate consequences. Debris from fires in cities would rise into the stratosphere, dimming sunlight and causing food production failures. Something similar led to the extinction of the dinosaurs, although it was due to an asteroid.”
Studies show that a "nuclear winter" would be far worse than Cold War predictions.
Modern climate modeling shows that a nuclear exchange would plunge the planet into a "mini nuclear ice age" that could last thousands of years.
Reduced light would lower global temperatures by up to 10°C for nearly a decade, devastating agricultural production.
A small exchange between India and Pakistan would deprive 2.5 billion people of food for at least two years.
Whereas a global nuclear war would instantly kill 360 million civilians and cause famine for 5.3 billion people within two years of the first explosion.
“Some argue that it is difficult to draw a clear connection to the disappearance of all humans, but we don't want to find out for ourselves,” adds Dr. Moynihan.
Engineered bioweapons
Another way humanity could become extinct is through the spread of a manipulated bioweapon.
Since 1973, when scientists created the first genetically modified bacteria, humanity has gradually increased its ability to make deadly diseases.
Otto Barten, founder of the Existential Risk Observatory, says:
“We have a lot of experience with natural pandemics, and they have not led to the extinction of humanity in the last 300,000 years. However, man-made pandemics may be designed to maximize effectiveness in ways that do not occur in nature.”
Technologies like AI could make it more possible for more people to have the ability to create such deadly diseases.
If terrorists create a pathogen that spreads out of control, it could lead to the extinction of humanity.
Illegal artificial intelligence
Experts believe that the biggest threat to humanity is now AI.
Scientists predict a 10–90% chance that humanity will not survive the advent of super-intelligent AI.
The main problem is that a sufficiently intelligent AI could become “unsettled,” meaning its goals would no longer align with humanity’s interests.
Dr. Moynihan:
"If an AI becomes smarter than us and has the ability to determine its own goals, it doesn't have to be hostile to destroy us."
AI may be indifferent to humans, but simply use the resources that keep us alive to realize its own ambitions.
The problem is that you can't predict the actions of something much smarter than you.
Climate change
Climate change is also considered an existential risk, but experts believe there is less than a 0.1% chance that it will lead to the complete extinction of humanity.
A rare scenario is the wet water generator effect: heat causes water to be lost to the atmosphere, which can lead to an extreme cycle, leaving the planet dry and uninhabitable.
However, this will only happen after billions of years when the sun expands.
Elon Musk and the fear of AI
Elon Musk has expressed fears that AI could destroy humanity – a concern shared by Stephen Hawking.
Musk has invested in OpenAI, DeepMind and other AI companies to monitor the technology. He warns that a super-intelligent AI could reach the Singularity, where technology will surpass human intelligence and could change the course of our evolution.
Experts predict that the Singularity could occur around 2045. /GazetaExpress/
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