In today's rapidly changing world, the topic of existential risk is gaining traction. Existential risks are those that could destroy humanity's long-term potential. These risks may not only lead to the extinction of humankind, but may also prevent recovery to the original level of development, posing a fundamental threat to the stability of modern civilization and future hopes.
Existential risk is not only a threat to human survival, but also a chain of possibilities for our future choices.
Existential risks can be further subdivided into global catastrophic risks and existential risks. The definition of global catastrophic risks is not clear, but often these risks may cause serious damage to human well-being. In the face of these risks, human supply systems, economic models and social structures may be disturbingly challenged. As some scholars have pointed out, such events are not uncommon in history, but their impact is enough to rewrite future development.
Many historical disasters show that although mankind has faced various challenges, each disaster may serve as a wake-up call for future survival.
Sources of existential risks can be divided into two categories: man-made and non-man-made. Non-human risks include asteroid or comet impacts, supervolcanic eruptions, natural epidemics, etc. Among man-made risks, the challenges brought about by scientific and technological progress are particularly compelling, such as the mismatch of artificial intelligence that may lead to irreversible consequences, or the loss of control of biotechnology.
Studying global catastrophic and existential risks presents unique challenges. First, the characteristics of many of these risks make traditional scientific research methods difficult to apply. Furthermore, as technology advances, the nature of these risks continues to change. This means that existing data and models may not be able to accurately predict future conditions, especially on long timescales.
Any prediction of existential risks must face the fact that humans have not yet experienced these disasters, which makes us even more incapable of starting.
In order to effectively deal with these challenges, many experts have proposed the concept of multi-layered defense, which divides risk reduction measures into three levels: prevention, response and resilience. Such measures require not only the efforts of the current government, but also global collaboration to fundamentally reduce the possibility of realizing these risks.
As technology advances, effective governance in the face of new threats becomes increasingly important. Whether it is climate change or biosecurity threats, global governance mechanisms need to be quickly established to jointly deal with increasingly complex risks.
Future response measures are not only a technological competition, but also a challenge for international cooperation and consensus.
All in all, existential risk is not only a threat to human existence, but also a challenge to overall future choices. Faced with these unprecedented risks, every country and individual needs to reflect on how to find a sustainable development path in an uncertain future. Can mankind work together to overcome these challenges and embrace a hopeful tomorrow?