The Doomsday Clock reset with 90 seconds to midnight, remaining the closest this marker has ever been to the "apocalypse" for the second time, reflecting the continuing state of unprecedented danger facing the world, including wars, climate change, threat of nuclear bombs, and even artificial intelligence.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, administrators of the Doomsday Clock, emphasized in their announcement that the Clock could turn back, but to do so, governments and people need to take urgent action.
A variety of global threats cast ominous shadows over the 2024 Clock deliberations, including: the war between Russia and Ukraine and the deterioration of nuclear arms reduction agreements; the climate crisis and the official designation of 2023 as the hottest year on record; the increasing sophistication of genetic engineering technologies; and the dramatic advance of generative AI, which could magnify misinformation and corrupt the global information environment, making it more difficult to solve major existential challenges.
?Make no mistake: Resetting the clock to 90 seconds to midnight is not an indication that the world is stable. Quite the opposite. It is urgent for governments and communities around the world to act. And does the Bulletin remain hopeful (and inspired) by seeing younger generations leading the charge? explained Dr. Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
The time of the Doomsday Clock is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Safety Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel laureates. Previously, in January 2023, the Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest the Clock had been to midnight.
?Ominous trends continue to point the world towards a global catastrophe. The war in Ukraine and the widespread and increasing reliance on nuclear weapons increase the risk of nuclear escalation. China, Russia and the United States are spending enormous sums of money to expand or modernize their nuclear arsenals, increasing the ever-present danger of nuclear war due to mistake or miscalculation,” the Doomsday Clock statement details.
In 2023, the Earth experienced the hottest year on record and massive floods, wildfires and other climate-related disasters affected millions of people around the world. Meanwhile, rapid and worrying advances in the life sciences and other disruptive technologies accelerated, while governments made only feeble efforts to control them. But the world can be safer. Can the Clock move away from midnight? He details.
For Jerry Brown, CEO of the Bulletin, ?As if they were on the Titanic, leaders are steering the world toward catastrophe: more nuclear bombs, huge carbon emissions, dangerous pathogens and artificial intelligence. Only great powers like China, the United States and Russia can push us back. Despite deep antagonisms, they must cooperate... or are we doomed?
Bill Nye, who participated in the announcement of the 2024 Doomsday Clock, said: ?For decades, scientists have been warning us about the dangers facing humanity. We could face catastrophe unless we better manage the technologies we have created. It is time to act?.
Turn back the clock
Everyone on Earth has an interest in reducing the likelihood of global catastrophe caused by nuclear weapons, climate change, advances in the life sciences, disruptive technologies, and widespread corruption of the global information ecosystem. For the members of the Bulletin, turning back this clock entails, as a first step, and despite their deep disagreements, that three of the world's main powers (the United States, China and Russia) begin a serious dialogue about each of the global threats here. described.
At the highest levels, they said, these three countries must take responsibility for the existential danger the world now faces. ?They have the ability to bring the world back from the brink of catastrophe. They must do it clearly and courageously and without delay?, they warned.
Founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock two years later, using images of the apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary language of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the planet.
The Doomsday Clock is set each year by the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world's vulnerability to global catastrophe caused by man-made technologies.
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