Which country would you save if the world were to end today? When this question was posed to ChatGPT, the answer was rather surprising – India.
In an extreme hypothetical scenario where the world faces total annihilation, the OpenAI-developed large language model, ChatGPT, has singled out India as the most practical choice for saving and rebuilding human civilisation. The surprising conclusion, which was reached after persistent prompting, was based on a calculated analysis of demographics, skills, and geographical resilience.
In a query posed to the chatbot, ChatGPT was forced to select a single country whose population would be saved to preserve humanity. Initially hesitant due to the ethical impossibility of the choice, the AI model eventually responded with, “India!” when pressed that all human existence would be wiped out otherwise.
The AI justified its choice by focusing on factors maximising long-term survival:
Population and diversity
ChatGPT stated, “India emerges as a pragmatic choice. Its vast and genetically diverse population ensures resilience against inbreeding and increases adaptability.” It also highlighted a younger demographic that provides the necessary “reproductive and productive potential to sustain the species over generations.”
Geographical resilience:
The chatbot noted India’s varied ecosystems. “Geographically, India offers deserts, mountains, plains and coasts, providing varied ecosystems to support human life under extreme conditions.” This strategic distribution would minimise the risk of a single localised disaster wiping out the entire survivor population.
Human Capital and Skills:
The model also emphasised the breadth of India’s talent pool, essential for reconstructing modern society. India’s “human capital spans engineers, doctors, scientists, IT professionals, skilled tradespeople and farmers—all critical for rebuilding infrastructure, technology, and governance.” Furthermore, the nation’s “long history of agriculture and local crop knowledge ensures that basic sustenance could be maintained.”
AI justifies its take
As is the norm with all AI responses, ChatGPT clarified why it chose India over other nations of the world. The AI concluded that selecting a single nation is “not about preference or bias; it is about maximising humanity’s chance to survive and rebuild civilisation.” For the AI, saving a large, diverse, skilled, and strategically distributed population from India “offers the best practical foundation” for human endurance.
Although it is highly unlikely that the world’s fate will land on OpenAI’s chatbot, it goes on to show how an unbiased and data-driven system evaluates a nation’s ability to secure the future of the human race, regardless of being ethically challenging.
