Everything has a beginning and an end, whether we like it or not. It applies even to the Universe itself, as science says it very clear. Just trying to imagine that before the Big Bang there was complete nothingness – no spacetime and matter – is painful beyond belief.
While we won’t go that far in this article and talk about the end of the Universe, we’ll be presenting what could await us in our own cosmic backyard: planet Earth. Life may exist elsewhere in the Universe, but we first have to learn how to take care of our own planet.
4. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become such a widespread phenomenon in our society, and it will keep on going. It was created to make our lives better and easier, but it could one day stab us right in the back if we aren’t careful. Plenty of scientists, including Stephen Hawking, warned the world about the dangers of AI. Thinking machines taking full charge of the world could develop consciousness and reckon us human beings as useless and even harmful for the environment. However, this is the least plausible apocalyptic scenario from our list, as we hope that scientists won’t ever be foolish enough to build both intelligent and conscious robots.
3. Pandemic
The planet had some pretty awful pandemics during the history of mankind. We can mention leprosy from the 11th century, the bubonic plague from 1350, and so on. While the medical world from those times was falling short in bringing efficient treatments, we can hope that not the same would happen today. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has already killed over 600,000 people in almost half a year. While we don’t believe that the new coronavirus could end the world considering that it has a low mortality rate and there’s significant progress in providing treatment and vaccine, nature can always bring new threats to us. A pandemic could surely end the human race.
2. Nuclear war
This one occupies the second place in our list, and it’s obvious why. There are so many ongoing tensions among states across the world, and we could use cultivating positive feelings and empathy more. Nuclear weapons had been used only once for military purposes, and let’s hope it was for the last time. It occurred during the Second World War when the United States destroyed two cities from Japan. Luckily enough, the vast majority of the world leaders are well-aware of what a global war with nuclear weapons would do to our planet, and they don’t want that.
1. Cosmic disasters
This one is the most plausible scenario, as the Universe is loaded with destructive phenomenons that could wipe us all out in a split second. Besides a giant asteroid like the Chicxulub impactor that killed the dinosaurs, we could also be visited by a black hole, a quasar, a supernova, and so on. It’s an undeniable scientific fact that the Sun will also lose its fuel one day. Without our star, all life will fade away slowly into oblivion.
Nobody can deny that all these scenarios are highly plausible someday. But hopefully, we will learn how to respect each other and work together to ensure a better future for ourselves and for our children. Technology should someday allow us to move to another planet.
