From aliens and asteroids to pandemics, war and climate change, life as we know it is at risk.
Civilizations don’t last forever. Just ask the Aztecs. Or the Maya. Or fans of the original Roman Empire.
Societies throughout history have often gone the way of the dinosaurs and the dodo. Wars, or disease, or altered weather patterns, or natural disasters, or famine have repeatedly tipped complex regional societies.
There’s no guarantee that 21st century civilization will last till the 22nd.
In fact, humankind now faces a multitude of credible existential threats of which everybody ought to be aware. Take a look at the Top 10 Threats to the Survival of Civilization-
Alien invasion
An assault on Earth by extraterrestrials isn’t exactly likely anytime soon. Even if enemy aliens are out there, they’d have to come a really long way for no good reason.
Nevertheless, if aliens did attack, they could easily destroy all earthly civilization.
Asteroid impact
Not an immediate concern, yet more likely than an alien invasion. After all, an asteroid has already wiped out civilization on Earth once before.
Artificial intelligence takeover
AI’s destructive potential will pose an accelerating threat. A 2018 paper identified dozens of scenarios for AI-generated global catastrophe.
Nuclear war
After World War II, nuclear war was the most likely end-of-civilization scenario. As long as nuclear arsenals remained undismantled, the threat continued, and now it may be greater than ever.
Climate change
Scientists have been warning for more than a century that carbon dioxide emissions could alter the planet. Higher average temperatures, hotter summers, melting sea ice, severe droughts, more wildfires, more powerful hurricanes and yes, even stronger winter storms are already signaling that climate change is not a myth.