Terminator-style ROBOTS could wipe us out in the next five years

Humanity is in a precarious state and never more than a hair's breadth from being wiped out, if the hordes of Doomsday fanatics are to be believed. But while many scenarios may seem in the realm of fantasy, a new report suggests there are a number of global catastrophic risks which we could do with preparing for much better. According to the report, top of the list for 2016 are climate change-related catastrophes, natural pandemics - such as bird flu - and nuclear war. Countdown to extinction: A new report detailing the global catastrophic risks facing humanity lists nuclear war (stock image) and climate change among the top threats that could wipe out up one tenth of the world's population. Other risks which make the list for 2016 include man-made virus, failure of geo-engineering - such as adding iron to oceans to absorb atmospheric carbon - as well as the threat of catastrophic disruption from artificial intelligence. The report suggests that a person may be five times as likely to be wiped out in an extinction event as a car crash.