Discussion [Poll] Humanity has declined!

It is the year 2025 and aliens have arrived on Earth!

Their message: "Earth is pretty, but humanity is an eyesore."

The aliens decide to employ a special giant radiation beam field to instantly render all human beings sterile. From this day forth, humans (and related primates) are unable to produce sperm or eggs or reproduce. It is the ultimate genocide approach -- but it will take ~100 years before humans completely die off.

Immediately after performing the act, the aliens immediately disappear into hyperspace and promise to return in 200 years.​

1. How would humanity react to this? Would there be chaos?

2. Would you change your career/job/life direction if you knew you'd be along the last humans on Earth?

3. Challenge: See if you can chronicle the major events of the last 100 years of the human species. Would WW3 happen? Would humans fly to Mars? Would humanity build a giant monument?

 

Umm... Did EVERYONE get the message? or only some.. who have the option to keep it to them selves ?

 

Poll problem: for the “I’ve never heard of it” options. None of them fit me: I’ve never heard of it, and since I know nothing about it, I have no idea whether I’m interested or not.

 

Let's say they projected it with telepathy, so everyone knows there won't be any more babies

 

Aliens return 200 yrs later... to a decayed Earth. 100 yrs is more than enough for us to screw up Earth.

It will be our petty retaliation. And it won't even require doing anything other than what we usually do.

 

Uhh, I'm guessing if everyone became sterile, then they will just make cloning legal. Current technology is on the cusp of successfully cloning humans, it's only ethics and laws preventing the research from being completed so I'm guessing if it does happen, then the government will just put more resources into research on cloning without sperm and egg and make such research legal.

 

hello cloning!

 

Planet of the fapes.

 

I think someone could figure out an alternative way to reproduce if it came down to it.

 

You need to look again for the definition of genocide, because making an species sterile is a mild approach to eliminate the species

 

Either cloning is a success and then humanity is *point and laugh*

Or failing that

Pretty sure Humanity out of spite would turn the Earth into a lifeless wasteland. (If they don't do it WW3 style)

 

robots

 

Never heard of it, but there've been similar genocide type scenarios in sci-fi before ... Mass Effect's Genophage comes to mind.

If there are no descendants for the next 200 years, then there are only 2.1 possible options:
(1) Find a way to revert humanity back to fertility
(1.1) Failing which, cryofreeze/stasis/whatever humanity till the aliens come back, and beg for a cure

(2) Freed of future generational obligations, live a live of decadence. There's no need to be stewards of Planet Earth anymore. Expect all the ensuing anarchy (failure of social welfare systems, etc that support the older or more destitute population).
Just look at some childless couples/individuals for reference.
The ones that still persist on maintaining social stability and caring for others (and the planet) are those that have younger next-of-kin (nieces, nephews, children of family friends, etc).
The ones that don't usually don't have any next-of-kin.

Both options can happen concurrently, and mostly like will.

For reference on a different type of fertility problem .... Idiocracy.

 

I'm curious to what extent the stock market would crash.

Many investments are built on the premise that economic growth will continue for the next 20-50 years, but in the absence of a future...

...I wonder what would happen

 

Anybody else got the urge to go xianxia protoganist and take revenge on the aliens (or at least crash nuclear warheads iron man style)

 

1. I am sure there would be chaos but different people would react differently... Some scientists would likely try some genetic engineering stuff and create some transgenic test tube babies...

2. No... I believe we have already passed a point of no return on the road to extinction... humanity might still continue for centuries or even a millennia but we can't change whats coming...

3. Umm... some chaos... then business as usual except, lots and lots of transgenic test tube babies in place of naturally born ones... and then the aliens return and realize that bipedal cockroaches are STILL crawling around everywhere...

 

200 years later the aliens come back to find a scorched earth. They broadcast the message "April Fools!"

Then they look around. Where'd everybody go?

Aliens aren't good at humor.

 

If we can't keep the earth then no one can!
We're all selfish enough to f*ck the place up and also we're capable enough! Hell we're still doing it even now!

 

So that's what the chickens have prophetized.

 

Yea this is already happening.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-global-fertility-crash/
An eventual peak of population growth (i.e. hard cap on demand) is going to hit the markets eventually, probably a slow inexorable decline.

Don't think the market will crash, but expecting a repeat of the S&P 8% annual growth (1950s - 2010s) seems a little unrealistic. Unless there's a great leap forward to expand population (colonize another planet, discover new sustainable population growth options that drastically reduce cost of living, etc)