--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The physical extinction of the human race…" description: "\"The physical extinction of the human race is one possibility.\" — Vernor Vinge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vernor-vinge-4357_extinction_the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-rac_3006856.png" --- # The physical extinction of the human race is one… ![“The physical extinction of the human race is one possibility.” quote by Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vernor-vinge-4357_extinction_the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-rac_3006856.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vernor-vinge-4357_extinction_the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-rac_3006856.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vernor-vinge-4357_extinction_the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-rac_3006856.png) > “The physical extinction of the human race is one possibility.” [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human extinction could be a possible outcome of future technological developments, highlighting existential risk. **In simple terms:** Human extinction is a possible future risk. Key Takeaway Consider and mitigate existential risks. Themes technology future risk Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - AI development - biotech safety - climate policy - space colonization Key Concepts existential risk singularity anthropics Questions to Reflect On - What risks are most urgent to address? - How can society prepare for unknown futures? A Different Perspective Predicting exact outcomes is speculative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [The extinction of the human race will come from its inability to EMOTIONALLY comprehend the exponential function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-teller/the-extinction-of-the-human-race-will-come-from-its-inability-to/) [Edward Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-teller/) > [“Dr. Albert Frock: Well, how goes the gradual extinction of the human race, Lieutenant? Lt. Vincent D'Agosta: I'm doing what I can to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/dr-albert-frock-well-how-goes-the-gradual-extinction-of-the-human/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [“The Extinction of the Human Race now underway. Watch it live as it happens - Is it too late to stop it? Search "Extinction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mathiesen/the-extinction-of-the-human-race-now-underway-watch-it-live-as-it/) Michael Mathiesen > [No historian can take part with--or against--the forces he has to study. To him even the extinction of the human race should merely be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/no-historian-can-take-part-with-or-against-the-forces-he-has-to-study/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [If I had my life to live over again I would not devote it to develop new industrial processes: I would try to add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-baekeland/if-i-had-my-life-to-live-over-again-i-would-not-devote-it-to-develop/) [Leo Baekeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-baekeland/) > [During cycles long anterior to the creation of the human race, and while the surface of the globe was passing from one condition to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderick-murchison/during-cycles-long-anterior-to-the-creation-of-the-human-race-and/) [Roderick Murchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roderick-murchison/) > [During your lifetime, the people of our culture are going to figure out how to live sustainably on this planet--or they're not. Either way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/during-your-lifetime-the-people-of-our-culture-are-going-to-figure/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilization, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race. This attainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-novak/unity-in-diversity-is-the-highest-possible-attainment-of-a/) [Michael Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-novak/) > [The good poet sticks to his real loves, to see within the realm of possibility. He never tries to hold hands with God or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/the-good-poet-sticks-to-his-real-loves-to-see-within-the-realm-of/) [Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/) > [The enemy of the human race...invented a means never before heard of, by which he might hinder the preaching of God's word of Salvation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-enemy-of-the-human-race-invented-a-means-never-before-heard-of-by/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [“The human race comes from Africa, but inhumanity originated in Europe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-human-race-comes-from-africa-but-inhumanity-originated-in-europe/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [So tell me, as an outsider, what do you think of the human race?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-tell-me-as-an-outsider-what-do-you-think-of-the-human-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) ## More by Vernor Vinge > [I have come to kill you."The death's heads shrugged. "You have come to try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/i-have-come-to-kill-you-the-death-s-heads-shrugged-you-have-come-to/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“From this era on, I think invention will be the parent of necessity – and not the other way around.’ That was easy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/from-this-era-on-i-think-invention-will-be-the-parent-of-necessity/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [How to explain? How to describe? Even the omniscient viewpoint quails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/how-to-explain-how-to-describe-even-the-omniscient-viewpoint-quails/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [All his life he had lived by the law. Often his job had been to stop acts of revenge…And now revenge was all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/all-his-life-he-had-lived-by-the-law-often-his-job-had-been-to-stop/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [Animals can adapt to problems and make inventions, but often no faster than natural selection can do its work - the world acts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/animals-can-adapt-to-problems-and-make-inventions-but-often-no-faster/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/within-thirty-years-we-will-have-the-technological-means-to-create/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Tycoon had a peddler's talent for using words to redefine reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/tycoon-had-a-peddler-s-talent-for-using-words-to-redefine-reality/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [It is a point where our old models must be discarded and a new reality rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/it-is-a-point-where-our-old-models-must-be-discarded-and-a-new/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [The heart of manipulation is to empathize without being touched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-heart-of-manipulation-is-to-empathize-without-being-touched/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“I’m a librarian, not a leader.” “You’re both! Librarians and archeologists have always been the ones to bring civilization back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/i-m-a-librarian-not-a-leader-you-re-both-librarians-and-archeologists/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“While We are out of Touch or How to Survive and Prosper during the Next Thirty Minutes by Your Friend, the Mysterious Stranger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/while-we-are-out-of-touch-or-how-to-survive-and-prosper-during-the/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [If there be only hours, at least learn what there is time to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/if-there-be-only-hours-at-least-learn-what-there-is-time-to-learn/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Over the last few weeks, some newsgroups have been full of tales of war and battle fleets, of billions dying in the clash of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/over-the-last-few-weeks-some-newsgroups-have-been-full-of-tales-of/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [Hexapodia as the key insight...I haven't had a chance to see the famous video from Straumli Realm, except as an evocation. (My only gateway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/hexapodia-as-the-key-insight-i-haven-t-had-a-chance-to-see-the-famous/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Nau had been very careful that enough nukes remained. If necessary, he could play the old, old game of total disaster management. So what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/nau-had-been-very-careful-that-enough-nukes-remained-if-necessary-he/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) [Explore all 111 Vernor Vinge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) ## More Extinction quotes > [“You go into extinction by being obsessed about becoming something else and then travelling in the wrong car while your real self keeps waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-go-into-extinction-by-being-obsessed-about-becoming-something/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [For the complete extinction of the state, complete Communism is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/for-the-complete-extinction-of-the-state-complete-communism-is/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [Plague has hung over human history. The biggest human extinction was after 1492 in North and South America when the mortality rate was 95…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/plague-has-hung-over-human-history-the-biggest-human-extinction-was/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Its haunting to realize that half of the languages of the world are teetering on the brink of extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/its-haunting-to-realize-that-half-of-the-languages-of-the-world-are/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Human extinction in our children's lifetime, it should be your top news item every single day, what's happening, you should be holding politicians to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/human-extinction-in-our-children-s-lifetime-it-should-be-your-top/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) Empress Dowager Cixi > [“To return to nature is to embrace extinction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-x/to-return-to-nature-is-to-embrace-extinction/) [Mark X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-x/) > [We need to take a leaf out of natures book. Any species that clones itself will eventually be attacked by a parasite, leading to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/we-need-to-take-a-leaf-out-of-natures-book-any-species-that-clones/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/without-death-there-is-little-innovation-extinction-death-of-a/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [In the 24 hours since this time yesterday, over 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed in our world. Fully 13 million tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/in-the-24-hours-since-this-time-yesterday-over-200-000-acres-of/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [We find ourselves heading fully into an era of mass extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/severn-cullis-suzuki/we-find-ourselves-heading-fully-into-an-era-of-mass-extinction/) [Severn Cullis-Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/severn-cullis-suzuki/) [Browse all 581 Extinction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The physical extinction of the human race is one possibility.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vernor Vinge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-race-is-one-possibility/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Extinction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-race-is-one-possibility/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vernor-vinge-4357_extinction_the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-rac_3006856.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vernor-vinge-4357_extinction_the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-rac_3006856.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vernor-vinge-4357_extinction_the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-rac_3006856.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The physical extinction of the human race is one possibility.” — Vernor Vinge", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Vernor Vinge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The physical extinction of the human...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-race-is-one-possibility/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-physical-extinction-of-the-human-race-is-one-possibility/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```