What a way to go

Guardian reported
How will it all end? Some say we are likely to go with a bang, others predict a slow lingering end, while the optimists suggest we will overcome our difficulties by evolving into a different species. Kate Ravilious asks 10 scientists to name the biggest danger to Earth and assesses the chances of it happening

1. Climate Change - Chance of temperatures rising more than 2C (the level considered to be dangerous by the European Union) in the next 70 years: High. - Danger score: 6
2. Telomere erosion - Chances of a human population crash due to telomere erosion during the next 70 years: Low - Danger score: 8
3. Viral Pandemic - Chance of a viral pandemic in the next 70 years: Very high - Danger score: 3
4. Terrorism - Chances of a major terrorist attack in the next 70 years: Very high - Danger score: 2
5. Nuclear war - Chance of a global nuclear war in the next 70 years: Low - Danger score: 8
6. Meteorite impact - Chance of the Earth being hit by a large asteroid in the next 70 years: Medium - Danger score: 5
7. Robots taking over - Chance of super-intelligent robots in the next 70 years: High - Danger score: 8
8. Cosmic ray blast from exploding star - Chance of encountering a supernova in the next 70 years: Low - Danger score: 4
9. Super-volcanos - Chance of a super-volcano in the next 70 years: Very high - Danger score: 7
10. Earth swallowed by a black hole - Chance of Earth being gobbled up by a black hole in the next 70 years: Exceedingly low - Danger score: 10

blogged

McQ blogged These seem, at least to me, to be more of the grist for Sci-Fi disaster flix than anything to really worry about but then stranger things have happened. And you should note that according to these "experts" (I can't help the scare quotes, they seem more like frustrated screen writers)and the folks at the Guardian, it could be robots run amok or super volcanoes which have the greatest chance of doing mankind in. Me? I'm still holding out for an alien invasion from the planet Moktar, but hell, what do I know.

Scott Burgess blogged Several things concerning prevention are clear, however, and will be of interest to those setting the policy agenda for the coming decades - one of which is that, according to the Guardian, we should expend more effort and money on fighting terrorism than on climate change.

And Subjugation by Hostile Robots is even of more concern, accourding to the Guardian

Glenn Reynolds blogged Robot Rebellions And Telomere Erosion: Oh, my. Scott Burgess, meanwhile, wonders who will fund the fight against our robot overlords?

I, on the other hand, join with Kent Brockman in welcoming them. Embrace the machine!

I don't know whether it will happen in the next 70 years but we already have been told how it will end.