With the world facing conflicts and the ever-growing threat of artificial intelligence and climate change, scientists are set to give their latest estimates on how close humanity is to self-annihilation.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will give an update Tuesday on the Doomsday Clock, which currently sits at 90 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been to the midnight mark since its launch in 1947.
The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor that visualizes and serves as reminder of “the perils we must address if we are to survive on the planet,” according to the group comprised of experts in nuclear risk, climate change and disruptive technologies.
“The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to global catastrophe caused by manmade technologies,” the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board (SASB) says.
Each year, the time on the clock is either moved closer to or further away from midnight, or kept unchanged based on the scientists’ reading of existential threats.
For 2024, scientists will consider multiple global threats, including AI, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas conflict, bio-threats, the continued climate crisis, and state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, according to a news release.
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Doomsday occurs at midnight, so the closer to midnight the clock is set, the more danger they believe the world is in.
Last year, the clock was moved to 90 seconds from 100 seconds until midnight. This was largely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of nuclear escalation.
The climate change crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic also influenced the new time in 2023.
The Doomsday Clock started ticking, more than 75 years ago, at seven minutes to midnight.
It was created in 1947 by a group of atomic scientists, including Albert Einstein, who had worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the world’s first nuclear weapons during World War II.
Since its launch, the minute hand has been moved 25 times, including last year.
Global News will be livestreaming the announcement at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Viewers can watch on globalnews.ca.
— with files from Reuters
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
