Robots and viruses ‘could wipe out humans’

Robots and deadly viruses are among the threats that could wipe out swathes of humanity. But governments are failing to prepare, a new report warns.

Climate change, nuclear war, and natural disasters, such as super-volcanoes and asteroids, could also be deadly to mankind.

It may sound like the stuff of sci-fi films, but experts say these apocalyptic threats are more likely than many people realise.

The report, ‘Global Catastrophic Risks’, ranks dangers that could wipe out 10% or more of humans. The report was compiled by Oxford University, the Global Challenges Foundation, and the Global Priorities Project.

Catastrophes do occur, though most generations never experience them. For example, the 1918 Spanish flu wiped out millions.

Sebastian Farquhar, director at the Global Priorities Project, said: “There are some things that are on the horizon, things that probably won’t happen in any one year, but could happen, which could completely reshape our world, and do so in a really devastating and disastrous way. History teaches us that many of these things are more likely than we intuitively think.

“Many of these risks are changing and growing, as technologies change and grow and reshape our world. But there are also things we can do about the risks.”

In the next five years, asteroids, super-volcanic eruptions, and unknown risks are ranked as the biggest threat to humanity.

In the longer term, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been listed alongside catastrophic climate change, nuclear war, and pandemics, as a threat. Mr Farquhar said: “There is really no particular reason to think that humans are the pinnacle of creation and the best thing that is possible to have in the world.

“It seems conceivable that some AI systems might, at some point in the future, be able to systematically out-compete humans in a bunch of different domains, and if you have a sufficiently powerful form of that kind of artificially intelligent system, then it might be the case that, if its goals don’t match with what humanity’s values are, then there might be some sort of adverse consequences. So, this doesn’t depend on it becoming conscious.”

The biggest long-term threats are natural and engineered pandemics, and nuclear war, according to the report.