In Mary Shelley9s novel, the scientist Victor Frankenstein fears that creating a female companion to his unhappy monster could lead to a "race of devils" that could drive humanity extinct. Today, some scientists worry about scientific advances in the real world that could kill all of humanity, or at least end civilization as we know it. Some two dozen researchers at three academic centers are studying these "existential risks"—including labmade viruses, armies of nanobots, and artificial intelligence—and what can be done about them. But critics say their scenarios are far-fetched and distract from real existential dangers, including climate change and nuclear war.

中文翻译：

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驯服明天的怪物

在玛丽雪莱的小说中，科学家维克多弗兰肯斯坦担心，为他不幸的怪物创造一个女性伴侣可能会导致一个可能导致人类灭绝的“恶魔种族”。今天，一些科学家担心现实世界的科学进步可能会杀死全人类，或者至少会终结我们所知道的文明。三个学术中心的大约 22 名研究人员正在研究这些“存在风险”——包括实验室制造的病毒、纳米机器人大军和人工智能——以及可以对它们做些什么。但批评人士表示，他们的设想过于牵强，分散了对包括气候变化和核战争在内的现实生存危险的注意力。