Could humans live without semiconductors?

Yes — humans could survive without semiconductors, but modern civilization would be in serious trouble.

Humans can physically live without semiconductors, and did so for most of history before the transistor era. But today’s society depends heavily on them, so losing them suddenly would cause major disruption to power, communications, transport, healthcare, manufacturing, and food systems.

What would be hit first:

• Power and water systems: Many grid controls, monitoring systems, pumps, and treatment systems use semiconductor-based electronics.
• Food and logistics: Farming equipment, refrigeration, trucking, rail, shipping, inventory systems, and supply-chain coordination all rely on chips and digital control.
• Communication: Phones, computers, the internet, cellular networks, and most satellite systems would stop functioning in their current form.
• Healthcare: Hospitals, diagnostics, monitors, imaging systems, and many medical devices would be severely affected.

If semiconductors disappeared suddenly, the result would likely be an immediate and widespread collapse of critical infrastructure, with severe shortages and large-scale loss of life possible. Society would be forced to fall back on older mechanical, analog, and electromechanical technologies, roughly reverting toward a much earlier industrial era in capability.

So the short answer is: yes, humans could live without semiconductors, but not with anything close to today’s standard of living.