Nuclear war, climate disaster, science fiction bioweapons, AI disruption: Scientists warn of the threats driving us to the brink of disaster.
By Chauncey K. Robinson\People’s World
Photos: People’s World\YouTube Screenshot
WASHINGTON—The popular 1984 song “2 Minutes to Midnight” by Iron Maiden—which highlighted humanity’s march toward nuclear war—needs an update to 85 seconds. Because that’s how close the world now stands to human-made global catastrophe, according to the experts behind the Doomsday Clock. It might be the catchiest tune, but the alarm has to be raised somehow, as scientists say the situation facing the world is more dangerous than ever.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board (SASB), which sets the Clock, released a statement, along with four supplemental reports, on Jan. 27 calling for urgent action to limit nuclear arsenals, develop international guidelines for AI use, and form multilateral agreements to address global biological threats. The board cited a “failure of leadership” in addressing factors that could lead to catastrophe, such as nuclear warfare and the climate crisis, as the reason for they moved up their countdown metric.
“A year ago, we warned that the world was perilously close to global disaster and that any delay in reversing course increased the probability of catastrophe. Rather than heed this warning, Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic,” the statement asserted.
“Hard-won global understandings are collapsing, accelerating a winner-takes-all great power competition and undermining the international cooperation critical to reducing the risks of nuclear war, climate change, the misuse of biotechnology, the potential threat of artificial intelligence, and other apocalyptic dangers….READ MORE
