If you thought that technology problems ended with the millennium bug, think again. One of the wonderful things about innovation is that as scientists develop new technologies, doom-mongers delight in telling us how they could catapult us back to the dark ages, or worse.
Elite Gamers takes a look at the technology that could start an armageddon
Technological singularity
What if robots get smart and keep humans as pets?
The idea that machines could take over the world is more than just a plotline from The Terminator.
The technological singularity is the theoretical point in time when machine intelligence becomes the superior force, and some experts predict that could come as soon as 2020 - better start being nice to that toaster.
Doom Potential: 6/10
Nanobots
What if tiny robots kill everything?
Nanotechnology is machinery measured on a miniscule scale - a billionth of a meter, give or take.
Theoretically, the technology could solve problems such as sewage, with nanobots killing off bacteria. However, doom-mongers argue that far more research is needed to study what the long-term impacts could be.
Doom Potential: 7/10
Nuclear power
What if Chernobyl happens all over again?
As the government considers creating more nuclear power stations to prevent energy shortages, doubts remain over their safety.
Concerns have been raised over the safety of the facilities themselves, the environmental impact of the disposing of radioactive waste and the potential targets that they provide to terrorist organisations.
Doom Potential: 6/10
The Large Hadron ColliderWhat if there's a BIG bang?
Scientists at CERN say that the Large Hadron Collider, the massive particle accelerator located underneath Switzerland and France, is extremely unlikely to create a black hole that swallows the earth.
However, surely we’re right to be a little bit nervous that there's a man underneath France whose hand hovers over the on switch of a big bang machine?
Doom Potential: 3/10
SETI
What if the real E.T. isn’t lovable?
There are currently a number of active SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) projects in action. All of them are after one thing – contact with alien intelligence.
However, if we actually succeed who’s to say that it won’t be more like Independence Day than E.T.?
Doom Potential: 4/10
Genetic engineering
What if we’re not very good at playing God?
Scientists have been manipulating genetic structure to alter characteristics since the 1950s and the science is now commonplace in procedures like infertility treatment.
However, critics say that genetic engineering could lead to dangerous mutations and that we should leave well alone when it comes to DNA.
Doom Potential: 7/10
Wireless energy transfer
What if we can get electrocuted without wires?
Much the same way that a wifi system works by transmitting radio signals to a receiver, so wireless power means that chargers and wires could become a thing of the past.
Soon you will be able to zap power to your gadgets without the need for any leads. But would you feel safe walking into an "electricity hotspot"?
Doom Potential: 6/10
The Internet
What if civilization collapses without face-to-face communication?
As the web develops ever-greater applications and even better means of communication, could we see society crumbling as we’re all too busy social networking?
If that’s not bad enough just ask your health and safety rep about the dangers of sitting in front of a computer monitor all day.
Doom Potential: 2/10
Space junk
What hope is there for humanity if we’re already littering space?
Not only are we creating unmanageable amounts of rubbish here on earth, but there is a build-up of debris outside of our atmosphere called space junk.
Space junk consists of abandoned satellites and rockets and is estimated to contain around a million pieces, all travelling unbelievably fast around the earth.
Doom Potential: 7/10
A super worm
What if a virus infects all of our computers and systems?
As the world deals with the Conficker worm, which has already spread itself onto an estimated nine million computers around the world, doom-mongers like to consider what a super worm could do.
If a super worm infected every computer in the world and switched them off, effectively it could send humanity back to the 1970s and cause global disorder.
Doom potential: 9/10
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