We Asked Two AIs What’s Driving the Doomsday Clock: The Answer Was Human Power.

The Doomsday Clock’s Pessimism Problem

The Doomsday Clock, recently updated by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, is meant to convey expert judgment about the risk of civilizational collapse and human extinction. Set this year at 85 seconds to midnight—the closest ever—it carries the air of technical precision. But the Clock is better understood as a communications tool of catastrophism, one that treats technological progress primarily as a source of danger rather than as a means of …

We Asked Two AIs What’s Driving the Doomsday Clock: The Answer Was Human Power.

1 February 2026 Lachlan McKenzie, https://theaimn.net/we-asked-two-ais-whats-driving-the-doomsday-clock-the-answer-was-human-power/ The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently set the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight – the closest it has ever been to catastrophe. Predictably, some commentary rushed to place artificial intelligence at the centre of the threat. Rogue machines. Loss of control. Skynet-style anxiety dressed up as policy c…