We are now 85 seconds to midnight.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is a nonprofit organization that publishes a non-academic journal focused on technological and global security issues. Founded by Albert Einstein and former Manhattan Project scientists in 1945, the organization also operates a symbolic Doomsday Clock that charts humanity’s proximity to manmade global catastrophe.
Every January, the organization holds a briefing where it updates the clock’s hands according to current affairs. “Midnight” represents irrevocable damage; when the hand reaches the proverbial final hour, humanity has reached the end of civilization. Factors influencing the hand’s movement include artificial intelligence, nuclear threats, and climate change. 1997 saw humanity a healthy 17 minutes from midnight, but 2026 delivered the most ominous and concerning calculation: a mere 85 seconds.
The Doomsday Clock has been criticized as a scare tactic and an unnecessary spectacle that feeds off the public’s fear. The bulletin’s stated purpose of the clock is to “preserve civilization by scaring men into rationality.” Other concerns raised include the worry that making such a blanket, exaggerated statement as “Humanity is 85 seconds from annihilation” may have the adverse effect than desired; people are more likely to make smaller efforts towards change, and may be paralyzed in the face of such bleak, insurmountable odds.
The bulletin’s reasons for 2026’s jump include Russia’s war in Ukraine, the US and Israel’s bombing of Iran, the accelerated development of AI, and the increased spread of nuclear WMDs.
Despite the overwhelming gloom those 85 seconds may inspire, it is important to remember that humanity has endured nearly 300,000 years of tribulations. It is easy in our digital age to feel smothered by the endless noise of tragedies, atrocities, and cruelties. Social media, for better or worse, has opened up the world in ways never experienced before.
With midnight at our door, we must remind ourselves that the clock has been set back before, and can be set back again. Change does not happen overnight; it often blooms for those who come after us, those who may either see the stroke of midnight or never know of the possibility.
There are countless invasions, genocides and pandemics, but there are just as many liberations, sanctuaries and breakthroughs.
