“Risk of Extinction by 2100”
Humanity could face extinction by 2100 due to the malicious use of artificial intelligence or a nuclear conflict. This is according to a study published in The Lancet, which outlines 17 major dangers facing human beings over the next 75 years—a list that also includes the climate crisis and childhood malnutrition. According to experts, all of these threats are interconnected, meaning they must be tackled together.
“The decisions made today by leaders will shape the health and well-being of the next generation,” said Professor Christopher Murray, co-chair of The Lancet commission behind the study and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
To compile the list, researchers calculated—based on current trends—how many years of healthy life could be lost to disease, disability, or premature death attributable to each threat. The study notes that while the likelihood of such events remains low, “the scale of harm, should these events occur, would bring about an apocalypse.”
Other risks include air pollution, antimicrobial resistance, childhood malnutrition, and climate collapse, alongside conventional conflicts, reductions in international aid, excessive alcohol consumption, hypertension, income inequality, low levels of education, natural pandemics, obesity, mental health issues, smoking, and unhealthy aging.
© ANSA/EPA
