Potential 6 month warning until the end

[Frombeyond]

So, we potentially only have 6 months until the end of civilised society and mass deaths. I’m terrified and sad

AI staff 'genuinely frightened' for humanity's future, ex-Anthropic researcher tells BBC www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1kx0gyje9wo

If there was one plug to pull, it would be tempting to pull it.

The whole world existed and functioned for millennia pre-Internet, and it would do just fine again. I don’t think it will happen because of the loss of billions£ and all the power and control that comes with it. I think the populace could survive and have to re-learn skills and work as we used to. I think the mechanical age was the pinnacle of human achievement and craftsmanship, machines enhanced and helped people’s lives, helping take the backbreaking labour of industrial work and domestic tasks. If there was a clean way of powering it, rather than using fossil fuels that would be the way.

I am currently watching ‘Victorian Farm’ series and lamenting! Yes it is romanticising the Victorian age somewhat, but there was so much good in it! Every single thing they used was organic and degradable, usually useful, often recycled in a wholesome and useful way. Little to no wastage. No toxic chems and plastic, over processed food packed with additives and chemicals, no sensory blasting from technology and aggressive marketing that screams in your face day and night. Yes the coal and oil powered side was dirty no question, but it looked such a peaceful and wholesome way of life. People ate what they grew, knew the community farmers for meat, eggs, milk etc,went to bed when it got dark and got up with the sun rise. Hard work yes but we’ve lost ourselves in this technological labyrinth of a world. I’d happily give up the car to go back to horse power and a simple life!

@PlumSlate

Here's the 'wipe out humanity' issues reported within my lifetime ... anyone else recall these?

1. Nuclear war and nuclear annihilation
2. Overpopulation and mass starvation
3. Running out of oil and resource depletion
4. A new Ice Age / global cooling
5. Pollution and ecological collapse
6. Acid rain destroying ecosystems
7. Ozone-layer destruction
8. Asteroid or meteor impact
9. Alien invasion
10. Supervolcano eruption
11. Solar flare and electromagnetic catastrophe
12. Global pandemic and superbugs
13. Mad cow / prion epidemic
14. Y2K and the Millennium Bug
15. Global economic and financial collapse
16. Climate change and global warming
17. Biodiversity and wider ecological collapse
18. Cyberwar and collapse of critical infrastructure
19. Engineered biological catastrophe
20. Population decline and demographic collapse
21. Artificial intelligence

and the more fringe ones... 22.Runaway nanotechnology and grey goo 23.Magnetic-pole reversal 24.Gamma-ray burst and cosmic catastrophe 25.Planet X / Nibiru / rogue planet 26.2012 Mayan calendar apocalypse I'm still here. After number 10, I stopped worrying about it.... eventually, you will too!

Well said.

As many posters have said, NOTHING is going to happen.

The end is not nigh! I am guessing that the doom-scrolling, scaremongers are quite young. No-one I know over 45 would take this nonsense (that the OP is spouting) seriously.

More worryingly people aren't open to the idea that this is a possibility and are declaring it "shite".
Like an ostriche they hide their heads in the sand. They supposedly think that if they cannot see the danger, the danger cannot see them.

Conspiracy theorists of all colours are driven by thinking they are so superior to the non-believers.

They do, the end of the world has been predicted since the dawn of time in one way or another....
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions | Britannica

Don't worry. Life will be pretty shite for a few generations, but not all humans will be wiped out. I'm sure those people on the Sentinel Islands will survive, living the way they always have.... Though they may wonder where the airplanes have gone. Anyway, they can rebuild the whole of civilization from scratch. Kinda wish I could be around to see it.

One problem here is people assuming it's 100% definite or 100% rubbish. It's a possibility. A low likelihood. But still possible. With an extremely high impact. Why not try to mitigate the potential effects?

@zov most of your Here's the 'wipe out humanity' issues are still very real issues today. Some such as Y2K didn't cause issues because people did take it seriously and come up with solutions.

Yes. Older mumsnetters remember the Cold War and how close we came to nucleur armageddon. There were government adverts on tv about what to do in the event of a nucleur strike. Whitewash your windows and hide under the table, if I remember rightly! There were a number of occasions when we were literally minutes away from destruction.

People shouldn't underestimate the impact AIDS had on society and the potential it had to do even more damage. It was seen at first as the 'gay plague' and then straight people, who had been complacent when it wasn't them being affected, got worried.

What saved us from nucleur war was world leaders on all sides behaving sensibly to prevent mutual destruction. Also, that officer and other low ranking but pivotal members of the military making calm, rational decisions.

AIDS is still a problem in some parts of the world but what has prevented it from wiping out humankind is governments and organisations across the world working together to contain and treat it.

So, humanity is capable from pulling itself back from the brink. Just when people have lost all faith in those in power, they come good and find solutions. That is what I'm hoping will happen with AI.

What I find surprising here is the implication that human intelligence has governed the world with a steady hand.

Yes. Older mumsnetters remember the Cold War and how close we came to nucleur armageddon. There were government adverts on tv about what to do in the event of a nucleur strike. Whitewash your windows and hide under the table, if I remember rightly! There were a number of occasions when we were literally minutes away from destruction

Yes, remember it well...that's the only threat that felt imminent, the AIDs advert was utterly terrifying but it seemed to do the trick...

This is horrendous and giving me real anxiety, how could this happen?

…. shudder … wait till BBC ‘Verify’ get their juvenile paws on to this … I reckon we’ll all be toast in three months … As a once loved BBC lightheartedly broadcast … We’re Doomed..

One can be concerned and acknowledge the risk while not being able to do anything about it. And I agree this is really out of our hands

My comment was reference those bewilderingly many posters who think it's all baloney and no risk at all.

I guess it could happen. I don’t really trust AI and use it as little as possible, at work and home. I don’t fancy using a driverless taxi - nor until tried and tested. No thanks! And I’d be a gonner, as would husband, as we’ve complex medical needs strictly controlled by medicine not easily accessible. Meh. I’ll store some food, not worry about overpaying too much off the credit card, and just crack on with enjoying life.

I remember being a kid in the eighties and being terrified of nuclear war. It was a scary time. I don’t think the risk is massively less now, but you can’t function day to day being so scared. It stops you from living.

Noted.

returns to cleaning the bathroom

The sad thing is AI could do so much to help us and the planet we live upon, benefits in health, food security, clean energy, even cosmic exploration. This could be the biggest chance for an amazing future, but we are more likely to shoot ourselves in the foot. This could be our great filter.

By the time the machines get around to destroying us, we will probably have melted the planet keeping all the huge data centres switched on.

Yes, I do agree with you. I have never been excited about the prospect of AI as I could only ever see the potential negative effect on humanity, but I hope that some good will come out of it too (I’m sure it will/has).

I’m sorry you are getting the frustrating response you’re getting @Frombeyond I am however not surprised. I work in deep tech, specifically now in AI governance and I’m no longer surprised about how insular people are and how utterly uninformed. The thing is, you can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.

Prep for yourself and your family, I am, and set up a community network if you can in your local area. Care about the people and the infrastructure you can. Because as you see here there is not much point in worrying about the rest.

So people who know that AI hasn't the power to destroy humanity in the immediate future are burying their heads in the sand. Ok.

I am guessing that the doom-scrolling, scaremongers are quite young

I wouldn't know about the ages, @Zov, but would lay good money they're the same ones who got into a complete state over Covid and relished telling everyone that we'd better get used to this new normal because nothing will ever be the same again

I remember those AIDS adverts. After I saw them I decided that I would never, ever have sex.

If you really truly believe you and everyone else on the planet only have 6 months left on earth then I presume you will be giving up your job, not bothering paying any bills selling as much as you can in the next week and taking your money and go spend it doing all your bucket list stuff
and start living off grid,
If you aren’t doing any of that then I don’t believe you truly believe any of this stuff

It is like Y2K because people are raising the issue. But for Y2K, people worked their socks off worldwide to avert disaster. I worked in IT during the 1999 / 2000 handover. It was no joke, we just took it seriously and fixed it before the predicted trouble could come.

We to need to listen and have the same collective energy here.