Humanity has been its own worst enemy. Advances like Fossil Fuels or Machine Intelligence created unforeseeable risks.
Risk |
Estimated probability for human extinction before 2100 |
---|---|
Overall probability | 19% |
Molecular nanotechnology weapons | 5% |
Superintelligent AI | 5% |
All wars (incl. civil wars) | 4% |
Engineered Pandemic | 2% |
Nuclear Wars | 1% |
Nanotechnology accident | 0.5 |
Natural Pandemic | 0.05 |
Nuclear Terrorism | 0.03 |
One of the most logical steps to reduce existential risk is colonising other planets. By spreading humanity to other planets we reduce the existential risk of every single planet. Elon Musk has famously made this his priority with SpaceX.
Our species' time on Earth is very likely to be finite, we should be doing everything we can to colonize nearby worlds — particularly Mars — to increase our odds of survival. Putting a permanent colony of humans on Mars would be an insurance policy against a civilization-ending catastrophe here at home.
If we let the opportunity to colonise other planets pass without taking advantage, we will be doomed to remain on Earth where we will eventually go extinct.