Milliongenerations:Risks

What are the risks of milliongenerations.org?

No one can find a viable solution or inspiring ideas that help civilization to persist

If we fail to find a viable solution for civilization to persist, someone else may.

Someone could find a dreadful solution or try to influence civilization to the disadvantage of others

Any ideas put forward would still have to be implemented.

It has been put forward that some dreadful futures may be worse than none at all, i.e. extinction of the human race and non-existence of individuals might be preferable than continuation and existence of intelligent individuals under certain conditions. If that is indeed so and if it shoud be up to the living to determine that for possible ancestors is debatable. The mere prospect is certainly no reason to stop looking for solutions. The ambition of course should be to create the most happiness and least suffering (milliongenerations.org started with the question of how to achieve the most happiness). Concepts of happiness are more difficult and controversial than those of existence, so this could be a second step once the conditions of continuing civilizations of any kind have been better charted.

Someone could prove that long term civilization is infeasible

For one, it is not certain that it this is so. Self aware beings able to share information have come about, why should they not find ways to continue? Civilization may well be possible as long as life is.

And, apart from formal logic the "proof" would likely involve assumptions about reality, which can never be known as true for certain.

If long term civilization really were infeasible, knowing about it would have advantages. With such a proof would come insight in the causes that prevent it from lasting, helping to make the most of what possibly can be. And we could better appreciate the gift we have and make the present more worthwhile for those alive

We've found ways to deal with the prospect of our own death. And, we already know that it doesn't look like the universe will support life forever. We enjoy something special. Those time scales are so astronomically far away that we don't worry about it at all. The challenge is to make civilization last as long as possible.

It seems likely that looking for what allows civilizations to last is useful.

Someone could write things that are illegal or submit copyrighted work

Prosecution from authorities could result. Stay within the laws that apply to you! See the Disclaimer. Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

The information displayed on this site could be offensive, disturbing or distressing for readers

Please don't read the contents of this site if you are unstable or easily offended or too young. Check the disclaimer. When contributing, please seek the truth, choose appropriate wording and follow the guidelines!

Use of resources

The existence of this site and its use consume resources e.g., the computers of users and the servers and the electricity to run them. Any activities of the foundation that exists to make this site available also require resources. The foundation hopes that from this combined effort a sufficiently beneficial impact for the future of humanity will result to make this consumption worthwhile and is committed to conserving resources e.g., by co-locating with other organisations. For the hosting of this site, milliongenerations.org uses the services of NXS Internet BV in the Netherlands. NXS states that it uses only "green electricity" for their data center since mid-2008 and plants oaks in the "Dutch Internet Forest" in Winterswijk/Netherlands together with Cleanbits as steps towards CO2 neutral internet use.

Other risks

Other risks may exist. Please add and explain.