One of the authors of the article says: “Humans are incredibly resourceful as a species. We have the ability to innovate, adapt, and collaborate on a surprisingly large scale. But these abilities have side effects. Simply put, the human species has become too successful for its own future.”

14 Evolutionary Impasses That Could Bring Humanity to an Impasse

• Simplifying ecosystems through agriculture makes these ecosystems very vulnerable and can cause famine.
• Economic growth for the sake of growth that benefits neither people nor the environment.
• Instability of global cooperation – international conflicts over the use of weapons.
• Turning points of climate change will occur, followed by irreversible chain reactions.
• Artificial intelligence is out of control.
• Due to the development of transportation methods, people from different parts of the world began to communicate much more closely, which led to faster spread of epidemics.
• Human dependence on fossil fuels.
• Chemical pollution.
• Arms race, nuclear weapons.
• Digitalization can increase the spread of misinformation and destabilize democracy.
• Preference for short-term benefits over long-term benefits.
• Excessive consumption.
• The separation of humans from nature leads to a misunderstanding of the consequences of actions for the environment.
• Loneliness epidemic due to mass digitalisation.

Of the fourteen evolutionary impasses, 12 are on the brink of no return. In addition, they tend to reinforce each other, which is called polycrisis. If a society is at an impasse in one, it is more likely to be in an impasse in the others. Scientists point out that humanity has not yet come to an end and call for the active transformation of our societies.

“Until now, the Anthropocene has largely been an unconscious by-product of other evolutionary processes. It is time for humans to recognize the new reality and go where we collectively want to go as a species. One very simple thing everyone can do is to accept the global consequences of our own actions as we learn about the global consequences of our own actions.” and greater care for society.”– explains Peter Sjögaard Jørgensen.