Why the Doomsday Clock Stays at 90 Seconds in 2024 (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: This is no ordinary clock. It doesn't tell time. Instead, it counts down to the apocalypse. This is the Doomsday Clock, and if we're to ever strike midnight, well, let's just say we probably won't be here to see it. On January 23rd, experts updated just how close they think we are to catastrophe. The Doomsday Clock was conceived by a group of scientists who worked on the atom bomb, known as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 1947, the symbolic clock was first set at seven minutes to midnight by designer Martel Langsdorff, representing their fears of atomic annihilation. But fears eased by 1963 with the signing of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the Bulletin reset the clock to 12 minutes to midnight. Since then, the clock has been set further and closer to midnight according to the severity of an increasingly diverse range of existential threats determined by scientists and Nobel laureates, reaching its furthest in 1991 at a comforting 17 minutes from disaster. In 2022, the clock was capped to just 100 seconds to midnight due to issues like nuclear armament, climate change, and threats to democracy. In 2023, scientists stated we were closer than ever to global catastrophe at just 90 seconds to midnight. And now in 2024, experts say we are still at an alarming 90 seconds to midnight, due in part to conflicts around the globe, AI advancement, and slow movement on climate change. The Doomsday Clock is a symbol, an indicator of the perils humans create, and a plea to find solutions for a better future.