The Future of Humanity
Organisation: Oxford University
Publish Date: 2007
Country: Global
Sector: Social Development
Method: Scenarios
Theme: Strategic Thinking
Type: Article
Tags: Technological changes, Extinction, Environmental threats, Recurrent collapse, Plareau, Posthumanity
The future of humanity is often viewed as a topic for idle speculation. Yet our beliefs and assumptions on this subject matter shape decisions in both our personal lives and public policy – decisions that have very real and sometimes unfortunate consequences. It is therefore practically important to try to develop a realistic mode of futuristic thought about big picture questions for humanity. This paper sketches an overview of some recent attempts in this direction, and it offers a brief discussion of four families of scenarios for humanity’s future: extinction, recurrent collapse, plateau, and posthumanity.
Located in: Resources