'Doomsday Clock' Remains at 90 Seconds to Midnight Amid Existential Threats
Nuclear escalation, climate crisis, and advances in AI pose significant risks to humanity, keeping the symbolic clock at its closest point to global catastrophe.
- The symbolic 'Doomsday Clock' remains at 90 seconds to midnight for the second consecutive year, reflecting existential threats to humanity posed by potential nuclear escalation, climate crisis, and advances in artificial intelligence.
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine, now nearing its second anniversary, was the principal reason behind the clock being moved to 90 seconds before midnight in 2023, and continues to overshadow this year's update.
- Rather than abandoning nuclear weapons, countries that possess them are upgrading their arsenals. Russia withdrew from the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
- Climate change is also a significant factor, with 2023 being the hottest year on record. Massive floods, fires, and other climate disasters threatened billions of lives and livelihoods.
- Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) raise questions about how to control a technology that could improve or threaten civilization in countless ways.
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