Advanced Computer Models Find Society is on the Brink of Collapse

Honolulu, HI, July 19, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Computer models using advanced Artificial Intelligence predict that the society we live in now is on the brink of collapse. Factoring together economic, sociopolitical, technological, biological, ecological, historical, cultural, and evolutionary influences, the Human Survival Index Project conducted by the Life Science Institute has concluded that human society has only a 42 percent chance of surviving until the end of the century.

The Life Science Institute study is based on computer modeling of factors influencing the "quality and perseverance of civilization," based on historical, geopolitical, and biological data. Dr. Dennis Lee Foster, the project's author, said, "In addition to critical factors considered by previous studies, such as resource depletion and economic disparity, by adding present-day stresses such as religion-based terrorism, mass migration, racial division, antibiotic-resistant micro-organisms, continued nuclear and autonomous weapons development, and geopolitical strife to the equation, the probability of societal collapse before the end of the century increases dramatically." No comparable confluence of related influences has ever occurred during recent human history, according to Dr. Foster.

The Life Science Institute study expands on research by University of Maryland researchers, warning of the possible collapse of civilization as we know it within 50 years. Analyzing five risk factors for societal collapse--population, climate, water, agriculture and energy--the researchers discovered that all such collapses over the past 5,000 years occurred when two phenomena occurred: "stretching of resources" due to the strain placed on the ecological carrying capacity, and extreme unequal economic distribution between the rich ("Elites") and everyone else ("Commoners").

Prior to societal collapses, the "Elite" population restricts the flow of resources accessible to the "Commoners," in the process of accumulating a surplus of resources. This restriction, in turn, strains natural resources. The eventual outcome is famine, followed by the breakdown of the society due to over-consumption of natural resources. Technological advancements may temporarily spike the efficiency of resource consumption, but also raise both per-capita consumption and the scale of resource extraction. In time, the increased depletion of resources negates the benefits of increased efficiency. In short, the impact of technology makes societal collapse even more likely. Humans presently use more resources than the earth can replenish, and the planet's distribution of resources among the human population is massively unequal.

The Human Survival Index study appears to corroborate public statements made by Cambridge University theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, forecasting the end of humankind within 100 years. He believes the killer instinct and propensity for violence that enabled Homo Sapiens to survive prehistoric times will ultimately be our undoing. With threats ranging from nuclear war and global warming to genetically engineered viruses, the iconic theoretical physicist finds it "difficult to imagine we'll still be around in 100 years."

The Life Science Institute is a nonprofit, independent, global think tank and resource for practical and theoretical research, education, and information dissemination on scientific, economic, and social issues affecting the quality, perseverance, and future of civilization.