{"id":10969,"date":"2020-10-16T07:34:42","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T14:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=10969"},"modified":"2020-10-16T07:34:42","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T14:34:42","slug":"the-grim-fate-that-could-be-worse-than-extinction-bbc-future-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=10969","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe grim fate that could be \u2018worse than extinction\u2019\u201d, BBC Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Di Minardi1, London, 5th October 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

What would it take for a global totalitarian government to rise to power indefinitely? This nightmare scenario may be closer than first appears.<\/em><\/p>\n

What would it take for a global totalitarian government to rise to power indefinitely? This nightmare scenario may be closer than first appears.<\/p>\n

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What would totalitarian governments of the past have looked like if they were never defeated? The Nazis operated with 20th Century technology and it still took a world war to stop them. How much more powerful \u2013 and permanent \u2013 could the Nazis have been if they had beat the US to the atomic bomb? Controlling the most advanced technology of the time could have solidified Nazi power and changed the course of history.<\/p>\n

When we think of existential risks, events like nuclear war or asteroid impacts often come to mind. Yet there\u2019s one future threat that is less well known \u2013 and while it doesn\u2019t involve the extinction of our species, it could be just as bad.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called the \u201cworld in chains\u201d scenario, where, like the preceding thought experiment, a global totalitarian government uses a novel technology to lock a majority of the world into perpetual suffering. If it sounds grim, you\u2019d be right. But is it likely? Researchers and philosophers are beginning to ponder how it might come about \u2013 and, more importantly, what we can do to avoid it.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/em><\/p>\n