The world’s Doomsday Clock has been updated this year, with scientists warning it’s currently 90 seconds to midnight.
They question themselves whether civilization is under more threat than last year, and then ask whether people are at more risk than the 75 years that have happened before. The Doomsday Clock announcement for 2024 has told the world it currently stands at 90 seconds to midnight. This is, in general terms, looking at threats to the world and humanity, considering various factors. During the announcement, they invited key speakers, including professionals in various fields as well as celebrity scientist Bill Nye. Elon Musk may find this year’s discussion tough, though, as they spoke about the threat of artificial intelligence.
What is the Doomsday Clock?
The idea of the Doomsday Clock was developed to calculate current threats to the planet and those who live on it, with midnight being used for the imagery of a looming apocalypse.
Every year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, get together to discuss where the time stands. However, it’s the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, along with a Board of Sponsors (including 10 Novel laureates) who decide what time the Doomsday Clock should be, and how close it is to midnight.
Since its foundation in 1947, it has become known as an indicator of how vulnerable the world is to global catastrophe, caused by man-made technology. The brains wanted to inform the public following the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It was created two years after the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was founded by Albert Einstein and a team of scientists at the University of Chicago, who helped develop the first atomic weapons for the Manhattan Project. The atomic bomb has recently been the focus of the movie business. Cillian Murphy played Oppenheimer, the man who was behind the creation of the weapon.
The Bulletin helps scientists and policymakers receive information needed to reduce man-made threats to humanity. When analyzing where the Doomsday Clock stands in regard to midnight, they take into account emerging threats, cyberattacks, greenhouse gases, genetic engineering, conflict and artificial intelligence.
Bill Nye the Science Guy chosen as one of the speakers
TV‘s beloved scientist, Bill Nye the Science Guy, was one of the chosen speakers for the 2024 Doomsday Clock to midnight reveal.
The 68-year-old explained scientists are afraid by AI, because it’s not guaranteed what will come of the technology. He told viewers of the YouTube live stream a programmer can input a command in a standard system and somewhat know what will come out, but it’s not the same as Artificial Intelligence.
The mechanical engineer also spoke on the coverage of climate change over the past few years. He said articles would focus on it every few days, but it’s now increased to a daily report, showing the importance.
Inventor Nye rallied for viewers to vote in their local elections in favor of politicians who want to fight climate change. He said this is one thing that people can do, to really fight it.
The comedian was asked how he stayed optimistic while facing reports like this.
He replied: “You guys, you got to be optimistic, or you’re not going to get anything done.”
Nye then used an anecdote, that could be linked to the NFL and Travis Kelce. He spoke about football teams and how players psych themselves up before a game. He continued: “Nobody who plays on either team thinks they’re going to lose. It’s not how it works.
“You know in your heart you are going to prevail. Come on guys, we can do this. I strongly believe in this.”
The TV star studied Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University. He worked on the 747 Boeing craft as an engineer before hosting his Emmy award-winning show.
Doomsday Clock was ’90 seconds to midnight’ last year
The dreaded update last year saw the Doomsday Clock reach 90 seconds to midnight in January 2023. This was the closest to global catastrophe the world has ever seen. It’s the same for the second year in a row. When the clock was first introduced, it stood at 10 minutes to midnight.
It was brought forward after the mounting dangers of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Bulletin discussed how Russia’s previous claimed threats of using nuclear weapons as a risk at the time. It also referred to the conflict reaching Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor sites as a cause of concern.
Other fears were raised over the global efforts to combat climate change, and baseless rumors on bioweapon labs.
They warned last year: “Finding a path to serious peace negotiations could go a long way toward reducing the risk of escalation. In this time of unprecedented global danger, concerted action is required, and every second counts.”
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