Dear Chinese President, US President, Russian President, UK Prime Minister, French President, Japanese Prime Minister, German Chancellor, Indian Prime Minister, Brazilian President, South African President and UN Secretary General,
As a scholar devoted to human problem research for 34 years and an entrepreneur and citizen of Beijing, I am, for the same purpose as that in the previous two letters, writing this letter to you human leaders for the third time. The problem is that the human beings are now facing the danger of extinction, which is not a literally dying-out, but a real extinction--no one survive, and there will be no chance left for human beings to press the restart key. For all of these, science and technology is the chief culprit.
One of my crucial conclusions drawn from the 30-year research is that it is time to take decisive measures otherwise human beings will extinct soon due to the development of science and technology within no longer than two or three hundred years or at least a hundred years.
When I wrote letters to 26 human leaders in June, 2007, people thought I was worried for no reason and then when I wrote letters to heads of China and US in November, 2009, people believed I just exaggerated the fact. Now I am writing to your again, because a research result issued by an international authority is fully consistent with my findings.
It was reported by American media on May 7th that one of the study groups in the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford said that high-tech could wipe out humanity in the next century. This study group is made up of a number of mathematicians, philosophers and scientists. In their opinions, more and more evidences indicate that the development of science and technology has been out of the control of humanity. If we could not face up to and solve this problem, science and technology will destroy the humanity by as early as next century. People all around the globe should regard the prevention of human distinction as a top priority.
I was encouraged to write the letter to you once again when I saw the above report. I know all the honored leaders are too busy to spare time to read a letter from an ordinary scholar. Fortunately, as this letter is based on the research result of the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University, I will not explain the reason why scientific technology will surely destroy the humanity soon. I just want to report my opinion on how to solve this problem.
As the continuing development of science and technology will definitely destroy the humanity, action must be taken to stop this tendency; meanwhile, those potentially dangerous technologies that could possibly lead to the distinction of humanity, especially their corresponding scientific theories, should all be sealed up permanently.
It is rather difficult to make it. Because in the first place, it is not easy for the common people who are enjoying the great benefit from science and technology to accept that. Meanwhile, no nations would like to stop or restrict the development of science and technology, for they are all clear that science and technology are the primary productive forces and anyone who stops developing science and technology will lag behind other countries, which then would leave the vulnerable ones to attacks.
Hence, only through consistent and united global actions can we restrict the development of science and technology. Moreover, the actions should be absolutely united and consistent. Currently, however, it is impossible to achieve this goal when countries are divided and ruled. Under this condition, each nation has its own considerations and meanwhile worries the considerations of other countries. In order to achieve the difficult goal to restrict the development of science and technology, the first step is definitely to unify all mankind as a whole. Only a global government can really consider questions and deal with them from all aspects of the interests of all mankind.
It is the right time for human to unify as a whole. From the view of the whole human history, the sizes of countries have been growing larger and larger over time. In other words, the political entities are expanding. Communication and traffic condition is the only factor that can really prevent this kind of expansion. Just as the vast Mongolia Empire, where effective ruling had never been realized, it would take nearly half a year to notice someone to attend a meeting. Today, however, modern transportation and communication have changed the world into a global village. The great unification of human beings only lacks a consensus and a resolution.
Dear leaders, you are the most powerful men in the world, whose consensus and determination will have a decisive impact on all humanity. There is really not much time for us! Your acting in concert will be able to save mankind from extinction. If this can be achieved, mankind of all generations will surely remember your immeasurable merit forever.
Yours sincerely, Jia Qi HU
May 16th，2013