The world has been warned that it is “running headlong into an AI arms race with what could be dire consequences”. The warning comes after the Doomsday Clock was moved forward to 85 seconds to midnight – the closest to midnight it’s ever been.

This signifies that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) has determined that humanity is closer to a global, man-made catastrophe than it was last year. These issues include nuclear war, climate change, and disruptive technologies like AI. Daniel Holz, Chair of the Science and Security Board of the BAS, said: “AI is a significant and accelerating disruptive technology. AI is also supercharging mass disinformation, making it even more difficult to address the other threats we consider. Instead of working towards international standards governing AI safety, we are running headlong into an AI arms race with potentially dire consequences.”

Maria Ressa, a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for her journalistic efforts exposing abuses of power in the Philippines including how social media platforms were used to spread disinformation, participated in the announcement. Ressa lamented the rise of technology that circulates lies more quickly than facts.

“We are living through an information Armageddon that’s brought about by the technology that rules our lives, from social media to generative AI. None of that tech is anchored in facts. Your chatbot is nothing but a probabilistic machine,” Ressa told an online press briefing.

The safest setting ever recorded was 17 minutes to midnight in 1991, following the end of the Cold War. Since 2015, however, the clock has moved steadily closer to disaster. Even at the height of Cold War tensions between the US and the Soviets, in 1984, it stood at three minutes to midnight.

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