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Why We Will Defeat the Virus but May Ultimately Destroy Ourselves
Working together, we humans will sooner or later defeat the Covid-19 virus and any other natural virus or microorganism. We will do so because our language ability, and the technologies we have created by using it, permit us to communicate faster and more widely than viruses or living microorganisms can spread. Information that we share with one another can enable us to coordinate our activities effectively to defeat the unseen enemy.
Unfortunately, the language ability and communication technologies that we have also permit us to share misinformation, motivating many of us to act in ways that are contrary to our own interests and to the survival of our descendants. Disbelief in vaccines, and climate change denial are examples of such harmful misinformation.
And the leadership structures that we have created as social animals, by using those same communication abilities, permit us to choose both wise people and fools to lead us. We have delegated awesome powers of destruction to some of our leaders, who may choose to use them for our ultimate destruction. Nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons are at their disposal.
Probably most dangerous of all are biological weapons and artificial life forms that may soon be created — ones more subtle, intelligent, and able to spread faster than natural viruses, bacteria, and insect swarms. If people who are foolish or genocidal develop and control such weapons, our species may well be doomed.
What a remarkable species we humans are! Look how much we have accomplished, both in understanding our environment and learning to survive and thrive in it. Let’s not blow it.
