We are so very close to the apocalypse per the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists who moved the “Doomsday Clock” to two and one-half minutes to midnight.
For this symbolic countdown to the end of the world, it marks the first time since 1953 that scientists have said humanity is this close to global disaster.
The group cited US President Donald Trump’s “careless rhetoric” on nuclear weapons and views on climate change among other factors, including cyber threats and scientific developments, that have contributed to the darkened forecast.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists said it was taking a number of recent developments into account, “A rise in strident nationalism worldwide, President Donald Trump’s comments on nuclear arms and climate issues, a darkening global security landscape that is colored by increasingly sophisticated technology, and a growing disregard for scientific expertise,” were among them, it said.
A team of Nobel laureates at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has been compiling research and analysis to set the “Doomsday Clock” since 1945. Since then, it’s ticked ever closer to midnight and now sits nearly there.
While geopolitical factors feature heavily in this year’s evaluation, emerging risks posed by new technologies have also been flagged for the damage they might reap if they fall into the wrong hands.
These include the rise of artificial intelligence and security threats, including the potential misuse of biotechnology. Developments in this industry — which enables humans to synthesize organisms from scratch — also come with a risk that bio-terrorists will make weapons out of synthetic viruses.
Besides nuclear, this would widen an already diverse arsenal of weaponry that threatens to end the world.