#extinction

#extinction

Roughly 14,400 years ago in what is now Russia, a wolf pup feasted on the meat of a woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis) that probably belonged to one of the last populations of the species. A genomic analysis of the woolly rhino tissue found inside the stomach of an ice age wolf ( Canis lupis) revealed that woolly rhino's extinction occurred rapidly soon after.

Roughly 136,000 years ago, its ancestors - white-throated rails from Madagascar - flew to Aldabra and found a predator-free paradise; no sharp-toothed prowlers or featherless bipeds with pointy sticks. And so, the rails evolved into flightless versions. Why waste effort and energy on flying when there's no point? Then came a catastrophic flood. The island went underwater. The rails couldn't fly, and they couldn't swim. They went extinct.

A new book about AI has a provocative title: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All. Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares argue that the development of artificial intelligence that exceeds human intelligence will almost certainly lead to the extinction of our species. How plausible is the scenario that they think will lead to the death of all people?

One of the pleasures of this book is the jawdropping coup de theatre that comes halfway through, offering readers a blend of humor and tragedy.

The very idea of de-extinction raises profound questions about the meaning of extinction and how we treat life, whether living, endangered, dead or extinct.

The moose had arrived on a flight of fancy, as part of the then premier's grand vision to turn Fiordland national park into a hunters' paradise.

"It’s a big step forward in our role to bring this species back from the brink of extinction," said Gary Ward, London Zoo's curator of birds.