Why do you think the goal is ambiguous? I’m not sure if this quote is why you think it is ambiguous:
we lack the basic knowledge and tools to even predict let alone change the “world” in the next two years
But this is questioning our capacity to predict or change the world, rather than whether “putting serious effort into not wiping ourselves out” is a good goal to have.
There is a very specific and concrete definition of “wipe ourselves out”: the complete extinction of the human species. There are a few other specific cases too, but this is the main one.
Why do you think the goal is ambiguous? I’m not sure if this quote is why you think it is ambiguous:
But this is questioning our capacity to predict or change the world, rather than whether “putting serious effort into not wiping ourselves out” is a good goal to have.
There is a very specific and concrete definition of “wipe ourselves out”: the complete extinction of the human species. There are a few other specific cases too, but this is the main one.