Today, we heard the announcement that the Doomsday Clock is now at 89 seconds to midnight. Yes, it’s just once second less than last year’s 90, but it the hand is constantly moving, and NOT in the right direction. Tick tock.
We’ve been close before, but we haven’t been THIS close. We’re on a countdown. With every tick, we’re reminded how close we are to the edge, and getting closer. Tick tock. For those who don’t know, the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic measure of how close humanity is to self-destruction, with midnight representing the end. And now, we’re closer than ever.
It’s hard not to feel a sense of dread when you hear that number—89 seconds. It’s not abstract; it’s specific, urgent, and terrifying. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the group behind the clock, cited a perfect storm of threats: nuclear tensions, climate change, bio-threats, and the unchecked rise of disruptive technologies like AI. Tick tock. It’s like we’re standing in the middle of a minefield, and every step forward feels riskier than the last.
What gets me the most is how interconnected all these threats are. It’s not just one thing we have to worry about—it’s the way they feed into each other. Climate change exacerbates political instability, which increases the risk of conflict, which could lead to nuclear escalation. Meanwhile, advances in AI–don’t get me started on AI– and biotechnology could either save us or destroy us, depending on how we wield them. It’s a tangled mess, and it feels like we’re running out of time to untangle it. Tick tock.
Thankfully, the Doomsday Clock isn’t just a warning; it’s a call to action. It’s a reminder that we still have some control, that we can still turn things around if we act decisively and quickly. The scientists who set the clock aren’t saying it’s hopeless—they’re saying it’s urgent. And urgency can be a powerful motivator if we let it.
So, what do we do? For starters, we need to demand more from our leaders. Climate agreements, nuclear disarmament treaties, and ethical guidelines for emerging technologies can’t just be lip service—they need to be enforced, funded, and prioritized. But it’s not just on governments; it’s on us too. We have to hold them accountable, push for change, and make smarter choices in our own lives. It’s about thinking long-term, even when the world feels like it’s spinning out of control.
89 seconds to midnight. Doesn’t the sound of that make your blood curdle? It’s a chilling number, but it’s also a wake-up call. It’s NOT midnight yet. There’s still time to act, to fight, to make a difference. The question is, will we?
Tick tock.
