Humanity is still in a ‘time of unprecedented danger.’
That is the conclusion of scientists behind the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic timepiece which indicates how close the world is to ending.
The clock was updated today and remained at 90 seconds to midnight – the theoretical point of annihilation.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which decides where the hands are set, said it is the closest to global catastrophe it has been since it began in 1947 at the end of WW2.
The researchers said the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and advancements in artificial technology – which many commentators have dubbed the new nuclear arms race.
Scientists updated the Doomsday Clock Scientists Tuesday, revealing they are keeping it 90 seconds to midnight – the same as in 2023
Rachel Bronson, the bulletin’s president and CEO, said: ‘Conflict hot spots 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.’
She added that keeping the symbolic timepiece unchanged from the prior year is ‘not an indication that the world is stable.’
‘Quite the opposite. It’s urgent for governments and communities around the world to act,’ Bronson explained.
‘And the Bulletin remains hopeful – and inspired – in seeing the younger generations leading the charge.’
The Doomsday Clock was founded by US scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, which led to the first nuclear weapons during World War II, and is a symbolic countdown to represent how close humanity is to complete global catastrophe.
Artist Martyl Langsdorf was commissioned to make the timepiece, and told to create an image that would ‘frighten men into rationality,’ according to Eugene Rabinowitch, the first editor of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
The Doomsday Clock started in 1947 with the timepiece set at seven minutes to midnight, but now it is only 90 seconds until midnight
Rachel Bronson, the bulletin’s president and CEO, said that keeping the symbolic timepiece unchanged from the prior year is ‘not an indication that the world is stable’
The scientists asks if humanity is safer or at a greater risk this year than compared to the previous and the same query, but compared to the more than 75 years of the Doomsday Clock’s existence.
And that is how they determined where the time will stand.
The war in Ukraine was largely behind the scientists’ 2023 decision, but the continued bombing, deaths and nuclear war threats have played a roll in this year’s Doomsday Clock.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 in an escalation of the war that started in 2014.
‘A durable end to Russia’s war in Ukraine seems distant, and the use of nuclear weapons by Russia in that conflict remains a serious possibility. In the past year Russia has sent numerous worrying nuclear signals,’ Bronson said.
She continued to explain that Putin’s announcement to use nuclear weapons has also contributed to the Bulletin’s decision.
The unchanged clock – a symbolic timepiece showing how close the world is to ending – was accredited to the wars in Ukraine
The war in Gaza was also mentioned as a factor. The conflict began on October 7, when Hamas gunmen launched a surprise Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking over 220 hostages
In addition to he Russian parliament’s October 2023 passage of a law withdrawing ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests.
Putin has also threated the West with total nuclear destruction in 2013 – the nation has more than 5,800 nuclear warheads in its arsenal.
The war in Gaza was also mentioned as a factor for unchanging the Doomsday Clock.
The conflict began on October 7, when Hamas gunmen launched a surprise attack in Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking over 220 hostages.
The unprecedented strike reignited the ongoing war between the two nations.
Gaza deaths have exceeded 25,000, according to the Health Ministry.
‘As a nuclear state, Israel’s actions are clearly relevant to the Doomsday Clock discussion,’ Bronson said.
Climate change was also part of the scientists’ decision, noting that ‘the world entered ‘uncharged territory’ for climate impacts last year, with conditions exceeding past extremes by enormous margins’
The most significant development in the disruptive technology space last year was the dramatic advance in generative artificial intelligence, the scientists said
‘Of particular worry is that the conflict might escalate more broadly in the region creating a larger conventional war and drawing in more nuclear powers or near-nuclear powers.’
When the clock was first created, the greatest danger arose from nuclear weapons. Climate change was weighed as a factor for the first time in 2007.
Climate change was also part of the scientists’ decision, noting that ‘the world entered ‘uncharged territory’ for climate impacts last year, with conditions exceeding past extremes by enormous margins.’
Data showed that 2023 was the hottest on record, with the global average temperature hitting 58.96°F, around 0.3°F higher than the previous record holder – 2016.
‘A lack of action on climate change threatens billions of lives, Bronson said during the live streamed event.
Bronson also raised concerns about biological threats amid the revolution in the life science and associated technologies.
‘Biological research aimed at preventing future pandemics has proven useful, but also presents the risk of creating one, she said.
‘And recent advances in artificial intelligence raise a variety of questions about to control a technology that could improve or threaten civilization in countless ways.’