Skip to main content

Existential Threats

Biggest Existential Threats. Every day our leaders warn us, scare us, and threaten us about existential threats. These hint at caution: “Do something now or we will cease to exist.”  What are they? For politicians: anything that will scare you into voting for them. For scientists: anything they believe may be risky. For religions: anything disabusing the scriptures. For the people: anything they believe to be dangerous in at the moment. There is much theory involved, projections into many decades ahead, life-style changes, political expediency, and more. Politicians love these things as they generate huge campaign war chests. Here’s the shortlist.


Climate change – includes global warming, changing animal habitats, enlarged deserts, increased carbon dioxide, eventual degradation of livable area, an increase of disease, rising temperatures, arctic melting, etc. Recall, in the 70s, it was all about global cooling.

Pandemics – usually highly contagious diseases spread by crowding and/or enhanced by decreased resistance, devastation by an incurable disease (e.g. Ebola), escape of organisms from biological laboratories, viral and bacterial mutations, consequences of starvation.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – includes algorithms that can find remarkable patterns, predictions of voting patterns, hyper-targeting for advertising, analysis of data oceans of information about all, tracking of individual movements, ordering of citizens on compliance criteria, use of imaging to determine location, work-space monitoring, stock market control. Elon Musk (yes, Mr. Tesla) thinks AI is the big one.

Drones – delivery of ordinance, disease, and xxx, tracking or spying on people, enhancing police state control, air space control dangers. This is just a small part of universal surveillance, where we are all monitored by cameras. Even now, our cell phones track our every move.

War – the oldest events of sweeping historical importance, including contests between superpowers, minor powers possessing devastating weapons, wars in regions containing vital resources (e.g. oil), wars with potential of sweeping across vast regions - all of which imply massive death, massive diasporas, massive starvation, massive pollutants, massive waste of resources.

Black Swans – the unknown unknowns, that simply happen, such as a volcanic eruption, a tsunami, an unexpected revolution, an errant state’s use of nuclear devices, an alien invasion, a totally new disease, and the old standby: an asteroid barreling toward earth. (Developed by  Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2001 book Fooled By Randomness, interesting if you can handle his ego.)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Please Comment.

Popular posts from this blog

UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAIN

  Uncertainty is Certain G. Donald Allen 12/12/2024 1.       Introduction . This short essay is about uncertainty in people from both secular and nonsecular viewpoints. One point that will emerge is that randomly based uncertainty can be a driver for religious structure. Many groups facing uncertainty about their future are deeply religious or rely on faith as a source of comfort, resilience, and guidance. The intersection of uncertainty and religiosity often stems from the human need to find meaning, hope, and stability in the face of unpredictable or challenging circumstances. We first take up the connections of uncertainty to religion for the first real profession, farming, noting that hunting has many similar uncertainties. Below are groups that commonly lean on religious beliefs amidst uncertainty.   This short essay is a follow-up to a previous piece on certainty (https://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2024/12/certainty-is-also-emotion.html). U...
Post a Comment
Read more

CERTAINTY IS ALSO AN EMOTION

  Certainty is also a Feeling Certainty is often viewed as a mental state tied to knowledge and confidence, but it also functions as a feeling with distinct emotional and physiological components. While it arises from cognitive processes, certainty also has a subjective and emotional quality that makes it more than just a rational judgment. It provides a sense of assurance and security that shapes human experience in profound ways. Emotional Dimension . At its core, certainty evokes emotions that influence how we perceive and interact with the world. When someone feels certain, they often experience relief, comfort, or empowerment. These emotions are particularly strong when uncertainty or doubt is resolved, offering a sense of closure. For example, solving a complex problem or having a belief validated by evidence brings not just intellectual satisfaction but also emotional reassurance. Subjectivity. Certainty is inherently personal and subjective. It depends on individual...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lies, Deceit, and the National Agenda

The world you grew up in is no more.  The world of reasonable honesty and reasonable lies has been replaced by abject dishonesty and blatant lies. Lies.  Yes. People have always told them.  You have told them; so have I.   We need lies; they are a foundational structure of social living.  They both deceive and protect.  Children tell them to their parents to avoid consequences, like punishment.  Adults tell them to their bosses, to enhance their position and/or avoid consequences of poor performance.  Our bosses tell them to their boards to suggest business is good, the project is on target, or the detractors are wrong.  The boards tell them to shareholders to protect their own credibility and most importantly, stock values.   Our politicians tell lies to their constituents, though sometimes innocently with them not actually knowing much more than they've been told.  They enhance their positio...
2 comments
Read more