1. Robots Arm Race
We're currently in a Arms Race...to develop robots capable of doing battle for us. While we haven't reached 'Terminator' status yet, we do have remote controlled reconn devices capable of lethal attack. Currently, there's always a human operative who makes the determination of how lethal that attack should be but there's a huge movement to make the robots fully autonomous.
So...what if these warbots become autonomous? What if they inspire the ultimate robot vs human war? (Eeek, Terminator!) Ah, but that's been done. So...what if their artificial intelligence makes them decide that war is illogical (Spock, anyone? :D )and they simply refuse to fight? What if they decide, like Ferdinand the Bull, they'd rather be...farmers?
What other 'what ifs' can you think of?
2. 'Noah's Ark Seed Vault
February 26 saw the inaugural opening of a global seed vault on a remote Artic island. This project started by the Norwegian government, received shipments of 100 million seeds from around the world. The project is seen as an unprecedented effort to preserve the genetic diversity of agricultural plantings (a very good idea, IMO)
So what if...global warming destroys most of our ecology? What if we need those seeds to begin anew on another planet?
What other 'what ifs' can you think of?
Mmm, I seem to be on a 'destroy the world' kick this morning, don't I? Well, perhaps some of you can think of some less cataclysmic what ifs.
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