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With rising global tensions and nations ramping up defence spending, it’s no wonder people are more than a little on edge about the possibility of World War III.
And doomsday predictions aren’t slowing down, either. Earlier this year, the Doomsday Clock geared closer to midnight than ever before, while President Donald Trump has admitted we could be on the brink of World War III.
With artificial intelligence being one of the largest progressions since WWII, it's safe to say this would be a very different kind of war. A former OpenAI board member previously warned us of the dangers that AI poses and that developing technology could eventually ‘lead to human extinction’. And one study confirmed that 58% of participating AI experts believe that there is a 5% chance of human extinction from AI.
But, could WWIII really happen?
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When UNILAD Tech previously asked ChatGPT about the risk of another war breaking out, the chatbot estimated a 10 to 15% WW3 could happen in the next 10 to 20 years. Although low, that statistic alone is enough to make anyone uneasy.
After exploring which countries would be the most dangerous to be in during a world war, what could trigger such a conflict, and what the potential death toll might look like, it's time to look at how long human extinction would take. When asked 'How long until extinction?' ChatGPT said it depends' - but it's entirely possible.
According to the machine learning technology, it could take somewhere between weeks and years to significantly reduce the population, with 'potential extinction happening over decades if no significant global recovery occurs.'
OpenAI's chatbot takes several things into account when responding, including whether nuclear weapons and other devastating technologies were used extensively. If so, the immediate effects of war could lead to millions of deaths in a matter of 'days or weeks.' That would likely lead to the total collapse of society whether things like nuclear winter, famine and disease would be widespread and Earth would see a gradual decline in the global population over months to several years.
Actual extinction wouldn't be immediate, ChatGPT says. Instead, it would likely require 'further global-scale catastrophes' like ecological collapse or pandemics - with no sign of sufficient global recovery - to wipe out humanity entirely. However, it’s not all doom and gloom as much as it may seem that way as ChatGPT notes that humanity’s 'adaptability and resilience' might give us a fighting chance.
