Scientists and policy experts weigh many factors, such as the likelihood of nuclear bomb attacks, when deciding if the Doomsday Clock should move closer to midnight.
(Image credit: Anton Petrus via Getty Images)
Scientists will soon announce how close a hypothetical timepiece known as the Doomsday Clock is to midnight — the hour of humankind’s self-destruction in an apocalypse.
The Doomsday Clock currently stands at its closest-ever point to midnight, with just 90 seconds left before the world as we know it goes up in flames. A perfect storm of existential threats contributed to the decision to move the clock forward from 100 seconds to 90 seconds to midnight last year. But will the clock lurch forward again in 2024?
This year’s announcement, which will feature science educator Bill Nye among other experts, will be held on Tuesday (Jan. 23) and live streamed on YouTube here from 10:00 a.m. EST.
Whether the clock moves forward, backward, or hovers at 90 seconds to midnight is decided by a non-profit organization of scientists and policy-experts known as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS). As in 2023, climate change, the ongoing war in Ukraine and disruptive technologies played a major role in the new timing of the Doomsday Clock, BAS representatives said.
Related: 3 scary breakthroughs AI will make in 2024
“Conflict hotspots around the world carry the threat of nuclear escalation, climate change is already causing death and destruction, and disruptive technologies like AI and biological research advance faster than their safeguards,” BAS President and CEO Rachel Bronson said in a statement shared with Live Science.
“On all of these issues there is some progress, ranging from early-stage nuclear diplomacy between the US and China to record breaking investments in renewables [and] emerging national and international policy frameworks around technologies like AI and biological research,” Bronson said. “But none of these efforts are moving forward quickly enough.”
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Sascha is a U.K.-based trainee staff writer at Live Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southampton in England and a master’s degree in science communication from Imperial College London. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and the health website Zoe. Besides writing, she enjoys playing tennis, bread-making and browsing second-hand shops for hidden gems.
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