In a case of fact being stranger than fiction the University of Cambridge has announced that it is to study the threat posed by biotechnology, artificial life, nanotechnology and climate change on the future of humanity.
Mirroring the plot device of many a Hollywood movie the researchers will investigate how your humble iPad could evolve into a sentient killing machine, or even just get bored of acting as a platform for Angry Birds and move on to something more challenging.
They will also look at the potential risks posed by an army of robots – ala the Terminator, rising as successors to humans at the top of the food chain.
Writing on the newly launched Centre for the Study of Existential Risk’s website the researchers said: “The seriousness of these risks is difficult to assess, but that in itself seems a cause for concern, given how much is at stake.”
The outlandish project has been founded by some of Britain’s biggest brains, including Cambridge philosophy professor Huw Price, cosmology and astrophysics professor Martin Rees and Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn.
The centre is set to launch next year.