Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight: AI and Global Risks in Focus

Doomsday clock moved to 89 seconds to midnight, closest ever in its 78-y

Scientists cite nuclear risk, climate change, and AI as factors increasing global threats. In an announcement, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock forward by one second to 89 seconds before midnight, the closest it has ever been to signaling a global catastrophe. The adjustment reflects increasing global risks, including ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technologies. "The world has not made progress on existential threats to humanity. Therefore, we are moving the clock forward," said Daniel Holz, chair of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, according to CBS News. "The war in Ukraine remains a source of nuclear risk," Holz warned, adding, "That conflict could escalate and come to include nuclear weapons at any moment due to a hasty decision or by accident or miscalculation," as reported by ABC News Australia. Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, stated that "The clock speaks to the existential threats that confront us and the need for unity and bold leadership to turn back its hands." "This alarming rise in distrust is being fueled in large part by the malicious and reckless use of new technologies we do not yet fully understand," Santos added, Holz also expressed concern over advances in artificial intelligence. "Advances in artificial intelligence are beginning to appear on the battlefield in a tentative but concerning way, and it is especially concerning the future possibility of artificial intelligence being applied to nuclear weapons. Additionally, artificial intelligence is increasingly altering the global information ecosystem. Misinformation and disinformation driven by artificial intelligence will only exacerbate this dysfunction," he stated, according to Reuters. Experts operating the Doomsday Clock cited the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts in the Middle East, and the military applicability of artificial intelligence as factors contributing to the current global risks. They pointed out that "the conflict in the Middle East threatens to spiral out of control and become a wider war without warning," while "countries that possess nuclear weapons are increasing the size and role of their arsenals." "Russian aggression in Ukraine, including the repeated use of nuclear threats since the beginning of the war, has been concerning. Additionally, Russia's recent withdrawal from arms control agreements is a concerning sign of increased nuclear risk," Holz stated, as reported by Sky News. Nuclear-armed North Korea continues with tests of ballistic missiles, and Kim Jong Un recently declared his goal was to "exponentially expand" North Korea's nuclear arsenal in coming years, according to Reuters. The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by atomic scientists at the University of Chicago to warn the public about the imminent threat of nuclear disaster, reflecting the dangers of the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. When it was first started, it was set to seven minutes to midnight. The furthest the clock has been from midnight was in 1991, when it was set to 17 minutes to midnight after the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), reflecting progress in arms control. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since its inception, the Doomsday Clock has been adjusted 26 times, reflecting political, nuclear, and climate changes, mostly moving closer to midnight. The clock's time is updated annually by the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which includes experts in nuclear technology, climate science, and nine Nobel laureates. Holz emphasized that moving the hands of the Doomsday Clock forward is a signal of extreme danger, stating, that "every second of delay increases the probability of global disaster." "When you are at this precipice, the one thing you don't want to do is take a step forward," he said, according to the Associated Press. The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.

The Doomsday Clock has been adjusted - and, look, it's not good news

In what may not come as much of a shock to many, the Doomsday Clock has inched closer to midnight and is now 89 seconds away from the ominous hour. It's the closest the two hands have ever been to the symbolic 12 on the clock face in its 80 years. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists team revealed the new time in a streamed event, which also featured diverse commentary on how they came to this decision. And while we'd like to sugarcoat it - as do the researchers, who usually pepper the bad news with the good - there aren't a whole lot of positives to take away. Sorry. Avian influenza, biological warfare potential, the rise of the private sector in space travel and communications, and generative AI were some of the key factors that shifted the hands of the clock a second closer to midnight. In 2024, it was 90 seconds away. The team also noted that, besides wars and nuclear threats, the escalation of wealth inequality, societal division along political lines and the spread of misinformation and disinformation has us teetering ever-closer to a point of no return. "We're moving into an environment where reason and reality are replaced by rage and fantasy," said Herb Lim, a member of the Bulletin's Science and Security Board. "The dangers we have just listed are greatly exacerbated by a potent threat multiplier: the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories that degrade the communication ecosystem and increasingly blur the line between truth and falsehood," the board wrote. "Advances in AI are making it easier to spread false or inauthentic information across the internet - and harder to detect it. At the same time, nations are engaging in cross-border efforts to use disinformation and other forms of propaganda to subvert elections, while some technology, media, and political leaders aid the spread of lies and conspiracy theories. "This corruption of the information ecosystem undermines the public discourse and honest debate upon which democracy depends," they added. "The battered information landscape is also producing leaders who discount science and endeavor to suppress free speech and human rights, compromising the fact-based public discussions that are required to combat the enormous threats facing the world." While the threat of nuclear war has been a constant for the Doomsday Clock since its inception in 1945, this year the team cited the breakdown of arms treaties and international collaboration. Rather than working towards a nuclear-weapon-free world, the threat of catastrophic conflict is considered greater than at any stage since the Cold War. "The countries that possess nuclear weapons are increasing the size and role of their arsenals, investing hundreds of billions of dollars in weapons that can destroy civilization," they noted. "The nuclear arms control process is collapsing, and high-level contacts among nuclear powers are totally inadequate given the danger at hand. Alarmingly, it is no longer unusual for countries without nuclear weapons to consider developing arsenals of their own - actions that would undermine longstanding nonproliferation efforts and increase the ways in which nuclear war could start." A constant factor in the Doomsday Clock time over the past decade has been the climate crisis, and while there has been great investment in and implementation of renewable energy technology, it's nowhere near enough. Adding to this are the ongoing challenges of cross-boarder collaboration. "The long-term prognosis for the world's attempts to deal with climate change remains poor, as most governments fail to enact the financing and policy initiatives necessary to halt global warming," the board said. "Growth in solar and wind energy has been impressive but remains insufficient to stabilize the climate. Judging from recent electoral campaigns, climate change is viewed as a low priority in the United States and many other countries." In little over a week, the new US administration has signed off on multiple executive orders that experts stress are expected to exacerbate environmental destruction and contribute further to the warming of the planet. The board singles out several countries - the US, China and Russia - as having the power to collectively "destroy civilization" yet also possessing the ability to turn down the heat on many of these global concerns if they could set national pursuits aside and work together. Of course it doesn't take a scientist to see this is not very likely. "Our fervent hope is that leaders will recognize the world's existential predicament and take bold action to reduce the threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, and the potential misuse of biological science and a variety of emerging technologies," the team noted.