The question persists, and deserves serious attention. But I am confident that we won't end up killing ourselves.<p>If humans weren't at the cusp of intelligence, and still possessed all this technology, then I would be worried. However, we are on the verge of real intelligence. If evolution can be called a form of intelligence, then we are meta-intelligence.<p>It feels as natural as the path of a meandering stream that we've taken up the responsibilities of evolution. We will spawn a new intelligence. The singularity is near (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Singularity_Is_Near" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Singularity_Is_Near</a>).<p>Granted, a scenario where a lot of humans humans die off is a real threat. A Malthusian catastrophe brings us down to one billion, perhaps.<p>Right now it feels like we're in high school, cramming for the final exam in an all-out one-nighter. I just don't think it is possible to fail the exam.