The doomsday clock symbolizing how close humanity is to annihilation has been moved forward one second to 89 seconds to midnight – the closest it has ever been, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS), which sets the clock each year, says the position of the hands is based on factors such as the nuclear threat, the potential misuse of advances in biology and artificial intelligence, and climate change.
Daniel Holz, chairman of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Committee, said the latest position of the hands was “a warning to all world leaders”.
The clock was originally set to seven minutes to midnight in 1947. Last year, it remained unchanged at 90 seconds.
In a statement on Tuesday, BAS, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, said: “By setting the clock one second closer to midnight, we are sending a clear signal.”
“Since the world is already dangerously close to the precipice, a shift of even one second should be taken as a sign of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the likelihood of global catastrophe.”
The BAS warns that the war in Ukraine, which Russia continues to wage, “could go nuclear at any moment due to an ill-advised decision or an accident or misjudgment”.
“The conflict in the Middle East threatens to spiral out of control into a wider war without warning,” the statement said.
The panel of scientists also said that “the long-term prognosis for the world’s attempts to deal with climate change remains poor, as most governments fail to implement the funding and policy initiatives needed to halt global warming.”
In the biological arena, BAS continued, “emerging and returning diseases continue to threaten the world’s economy, society and security.”
It also warned that “a number of other disruptive technologies have advanced in the past year in ways that make the world more dangerous.”
“Systems incorporating artificial intelligence in military targeting have been used in Ukraine and the Middle East, and several countries are moving to integrate artificial intelligence into their militaries.”
The organization emphasized that all these dangers are “greatly exacerbated by a powerful threat multiplier: the spread of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories that degrade the communication ecosystem and increasingly blur the line between truth and lies.”
The US, China and Russia, BAS said, “have the collective power to destroy civilization,” adding that the three nations “have the primary responsibility to pull the world back from the brink.”
Photo: BBC
