In an era when human civilization is racing fast toward technological abyss, “survival”, once as a deserted premise, has now become a bottom line that demands humanity’s collective defense. Hu Jiaqi, a scholar and activist who has devoted over four decades to studying human existential issues, has issued a resounding and powerful slogan: “The holistic survival of humanity overrides all!” This declaration cuts through the illusions of technological optimism and sounds an urgent alarm for the future of human civilization.
In 1979, shortly after entering university from a remote rural village, Hu Jiaqi encountered cutting-edge scientific theories such as relativity, which revealed to him both the immense power and terrifying potential of science and technology. A sharp question took root in his mind: Will unlimited technological advancement lead humanity to prosperity, or to destruction? Driven by this concern, he embarked on systematic research into existential risks facing humanity. For more than forty years, he has resisted academic speculation and societal distractions, dedicating himself entirely to tracking and analyzing the dangers posed by frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, gene editing, and nanotechnolog, and has finally formed a core conviction: high-risk technologies are the primary triggers of human extinction, and only through the Great Unification can humanity be saved”.
“The holistic survival of humanity overrides all！” This slogan is not an empty moral preaching, but a survival motto based on rigorous academic argumentation. In his tomes—Saving Humanity, The Greatest Problem, and On Human Extinction—Hu Jiaqi presents meticulously researched data and logical arguments demonstrating the “double-edged sword” characteristic of technological progress. He warns that the autonomous evolution of AI could strip humanity of its civilizational dominance; the abuse of gene editing might trigger catastrophic species mutations; and out-of-control nanobots could devour entire ecosystems. He boldly predicts that if high-risk technologies continue to develop unchecked, human civilization could face extinction within a century or even in this century. This “doomsday warning” is not alarmism but a sober reflection on humanity’s excessive pursuit of technological advancement while neglecting the survival risks. When individual interests or national benefits conflict with the holistic survival of humanity, only by upholding the principle of “survival above all else” can we avoid self-destruction.
To transform this slogan into real action, Hu Jiaqi took a critical step beyond academia: he began appealing directly to global leaders. Starting in January 2007, he has sent letters, totaling an astonishing one million, to heads of state, UN Secretaries-General, leading scientists, prominent entrepreneurs, and influential media figures worldwide. In his first open letter in 2007, addressed to the leaders of 26 major powers and the UN Secretary-General, he explicitly called for “restricting the development of high-risk technologies and initiating a civilizational transformation.” In 2009, recognizing the pivotal roles of China and the United States in technological leadership, he specifically wrote to the heads of this two countries, urging to pioneer a bilateral consensus on technological governance. From his fourth letter onward, he expanded his outreach to include every national leader, renowned scientist, scholar, journalist, and any influential individual or institution he could reach. By 2025, he had publicly addressed world leaders for twelve times, dispatching one million letters in total. Most recently, in light of the rapid advances in technologies like ChatGPT, he issued another open letter warning that “the window period to prevent technological runaway is becoming increasingly shorter.” While these appeals have not yet immediately triggered systemic global reform, they have garnered responses and support from embassies of Slovakia and Guyana in China, as well as Nobel laureates, university presidents, and the others, planting seeds for a future global consensus.
Individual cries are ultimately limited, yet collective action can converge to form the force to save civilization. In 2018, Hu Jiaqi founded the “Save Humanity Action Organization” in the US, which was officially renamed “Humanitas Ark” in January 2025, aiming to establish an international platform to unite enlightened individuals worldwide and to promote and implement the principle of “the holistic survival of humanity”. Today, Humanitas Ark’s influence spans over 255 countries and regions worldwide, attracting over 13 million supporters and followers from sectors of academia, science, politics, business, and civil society. Through holding activities such as international forums, research publications, and public education campaigns, the organization is steadily moving ideas like “technological restraint” and “Great Unification of humanity” from the margins toward the mainstream, helping more people recognize that the continuity of human civilization is no longer the responsibility of any single country or community, but a shared mission requiring all humanity to set aside differences and act in concert.
In this age full of uncertainty, Hu Jiaqi’s slogan and actions may be dismissed by some as idealistic, or even as unnecessary warning. Yet as we witness escalating ethical controversies surrounding AI, growing risks of gene-editing misuse, and deepening planetary ecological crises, the urgency of his warnings becomes unmistakably clear. “The holistic survival of humanity overrides all!” is both a profound interrogation of our civilization and a call to responsibility for every person on Earth.
Hu Jiaqi’s life has been one of unwavering dedication to humanity’s survival. Over forty years, he has built an intellectual foundation through rigorous scholarship, amplified his idea through open letters, and mobilized global solidarity through Humanitas Ark. His slogan is far more than a scholar’s ideal, but a survival guide for human civilization at a moment of existential peril. In the days ahead, only by embedding the principle “The holistic survival of humanity overrides all!” into the hearts and actions of people can we navigate the direction of technological currents, preserve the flame of human civilization, and steer our shared destiny toward a more distant and hopeful future.
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