Humanity has reached a point where, according to scientists, it's at the closest point to destroying itself since the inception of the renowned Doomsday Clock.
The Doomsday Clock was first introduced in 1947 and is updated by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group that was founded by University of Chicago scientists who assisted with the creation of the first nuclear weapons under the Manhattan Project. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists assesses the global risk of humanity destroying itself in various ways. According to the researchers, the clock has now been moved to just 89 seconds to midnight, marking the closest it's ever been to midnight, which represents the end of humanity as we know it.
According to the researchers, the world is less safe/stable than it was a year ago, with "Arms control treaties are in tatters, and there are active conflicts involving nuclear powers," said Dan Holz, chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' science and security board. Moreover, Holz stated misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracies are serving as a "threat multiplier". Suzet McKinney, a member of the bulletin's Board of Science and Security and a director of Life Sciences for Sterling Bay, said biological threats, such as diseases, are currently a major concern, especially when considering their development being paired with sophisticated AI models.
"How would it make you feel to know that rogue actors could employ AI technology to proliferate these diseases even more, or that entire nations have the power to unleash biological weapons within society's due to war or just a menial disagreement?" she said
What does 89 seconds to midnight actually mean?
"When you're at this precipice, the one thing you don't want to do is take a step forward," he said. "We're saying that given what's happened over the past year, we haven't seen the sort of progress we need. And in some areas of our concern, things have gotten worse. Therefore, the clock is moving forward."