52.
Misuse of apocalyptic scenarios to draw attention and financing to projects
This is essentially a variant on the Scaramella scenario described earlier, but applied to
projects. Obviously, using apocalyptic scenarios as a foil may draw attention
and financing to certain projects. Nearly every project which is genuinely,
authentically, and truthfully trying to mitigate some kind of global catastrophic
risk has fallen under this accusation. It is important to realize that there
are people who are really motivated by lowering global risk, however, and there
are probably easier ways of striking it rich than using an apocalypse scare.
This applies doubly so for those of a scientific bent, who will be surrounded
by secular intellectuals who are innately very skeptical of apocalypse claims
because they pattern-match to religious apocalypse claims.