Researchers identify 14 ‘evolutionary traps’ that could end humanity

A new paper from researchers at the University of Stockholm identified 14 "evolutionary traps" that could spell the end of humanity if mankind is unable to sustainably address those challenges.

The study – titled "Evolution of the polycrisis: Anthropocene traps that challenge global sustainability" – was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B earlier this month. It identified 14 evolutionary traps, which are defined as dead ends that occur in an area following humanity’s initially successful innovations, such as becoming overly reliant on simplified agriculture production techniques.

"Evolutionary traps are a well-known concept in the animal world," explained Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, an author of the paper and researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University. "Just like many insects are attracted by light, an evolutionary reflex that can get them killed in the modern world, humankind is at risk of responding to new phenomena in harmful ways."

Out of the total of 14 evolutionary traps identified by the researchers, 12 are considered to be in an advanced state that could make it difficult for humankind to get out of, and 10 were found to be trending negatively. The researchers also found that evolutionary traps tend to reinforce each other – making it more likely that society gets stuck in multiple traps.

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The pair of less advanced evolutionary traps identified in the paper are technological automation using artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, and digitalization leading to lost social capital.

Five traps are classified as global traps because they’re initiated by moves toward higher levels of social organization that in turn lead to efficiency and growth contributing to expanding resource requirements. They include:

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Another five evolutionary traps were identified as being technological in nature. Among those are the risk of locking into physical infrastructure due to sunk costs, as well as the health and ecological impacts of new chemical compounds and materials – both of which are considered to be fundamental outcomes of innovation cycles.

The study’s other three technological traps are considered to be late-stage side effects of advanced technology. These include the existential threat of powerful technologies, like AI, causing the extermination of humanity or autonomous technology not aligning with human goals, in addition to the risk of exponential growth in disinformation and misinformation through digital channels.

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Other traps identified by the researchers include a focus on short-term economic growth and technological quick-fixes posing a risk to long-term sustainability; a rising risk of overconsumption due to far-reaching global supply chains; reduced exposure to nature through urbanization obscuring signals of environmental degradation; and reduced face-to-face interactions reducing social capital and society’s capacity for collective action.

The researchers argued that despite the risks posed by these evolutionary traps, humanity isn’t doomed to extinction – but society has to actively work against those trends.

"It’s time for humans to become aware of the new reality and to collectively move where we want to as a species," Peter Søgaard Jørgensen explained. "We have the capability to do that and are already seeing signs of such movements. Our creativity, and our power to innovate and collaborate, equip us with the perfect tools to actively design our future. We can break out of dead ends and business-as-usual, but for that, we must nurture the capacity for collective human agency and design settings where it can flourish."

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"A very simple thing that everybody can do is to engage more in nature and society while also learning about both the positive and negative global consequences of our own local actions. There’s nothing better than exposing yourself to what needs protecting," he added.