According to statements from a senior SETI astronomer, due to the vast advancements in different science and technology, humans could cease to be the dominant species on Earth as life could someday take a toll on humans with Alien beings replacing us on Earth, and all of this by 2100.
Seth Shostak of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute in Mountain View, California believes that our technology is advancing at such pace that soon we will have designer babies and AI (Artificial Intelligence) on Earth, leading to the creation of a new DOMINANT species on planet Earth. According to Shostak, the advanced in these two fields could soon lead towards the emergence of an ‘alien species’ in the next century.
Shostak wrote in January 2016 a different kind of article titled “Could This Be Humanity’s Last Century?” which takes a totally different approach on things. His writings are basically a possible ‘crash-course’ as to what life will look like in the next century or so, given the pace technology and science are advancing.
“But what about the 21st century? What will your kids and grandkids do that will still be important a thousand years from now?” he argued.
Shostak argues that he didn’t mention the numerous threats present on Earth today, such as terrorism or climate change, he rather focused on the future making mention to a possible outcome that not only he but other scientist have openly spoken about.
Not long ago, speaking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AeroAstro Centennial Symposium in October, Musk described artificial intelligence as ‘biggest existential threat’ to our species.
He said: ‘I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with artificial intelligence.’
‘I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish.’
‘With artificial intelligence, we’re summoning the demon. You know those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram, and the holy water, and … Is he sure he can control the demon? Doesn’t work out.’
“The third thing you can expect before the year 2100 is the development of generalized artificial intelligence,” Shostak said.
Shostak seems to share the views bright minds such as Musk and Hawking have on the future of mankind. The SETI astronomer mentioned three things that according to him, can happen in the next 100 years on Earth. Shostak talked about how mankind will understand the DNA sequences and the molecular level of biology. He also believes that with advancements in technology, medicine, and several sciences, mankind will be able to cure numerous diseases that are deemed as incurable today.
“But our efforts won’t be limited to merely fixing ourselves; we’ll also opt for improvement. You may hesitate to endorse designer babies, but hot-rodding our children are as much on the horizon as the morning sun,” Shostak said referring to biotechnology and gene editing.
Shostak believes that re-engineering our children will create something humanity has never seen, creating drastic changes in the ‘evolutionary path’ of our species.
Shostak also mentioned space and how humans are set to explore the vast frontiers of the cosmos searching for intelligent life and valuable resources that are scarce here on Earth but abundant on other planets and celestial bodies through the universe.
With scientific advancements like these, the Homo sapiens that walked the Earth for 50,000 years might be unrecognizable in the next 100 years. He added that these changes may not happen in this century but it may happen in the next 1,000 years.
