>[!abstract] >The Great Filter is the idea that, in the development of life from the earliest stages of abiogenesis [the natural process by which life arises from non-living matter] to reaching the highest levels of development on the Kardashev scale, there is a barrier to development that makes detectable extraterrestrial life exceedingly rare. The Great Filter is one possible resolution of the Fermi paradox (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!note] >I have thought of the following [[Gedanken|gedanken]]. If every adult was handed a device with a big red button capable of instantly ending humanity, how soon would someone press it? Then I realized the answer is likely, “right away”, because it would only take one person among the radical millenarianists, the mentally ill, those under the influence of drugs, or Joker-worshipping edgelords. So a better question is: what percentage of people would press the button? > >To continue, the button can be seen as our collective inaction in the face of existential threats (e.g., climate change, runway AI). By passively refusing to act, we are pressing the metaphorical button, even if the effect is not instantaneous. > >Furthermore, technology makes that button cheaper and more accessible every year. One risk that comes to mind is an [[Ethnic bioweapon]] mutating and getting out of control. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Ethnic bioweapon]]; [[Fermi paradox]] >- **West** (similar): — >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —