In 1947, at the beginning of the Cold War, the Clock was started at seven minutes to midnight. Members of the board judge Midnight by discussing how close they think humanity is to the end of civilization. They might include "politics, energy, weapons, diplomacy, and climate science" potential sources of threat include nuclear threats, climate change, bioterrorism, and artificial intelligence. There are various elements taken into consideration when the scientists from The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists decide what Midnight and "global catastrophe" really mean in a particular year. "Midnight" has a deeper meaning besides the constant threat of war. Reflecting international events dangerous to humankind, the Clock has been adjusted 25 times since its inception in 1947, when it was set to "seven minutes to midnight". The panel discussions, held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, were streamed live from the Bulletin 's website and can still be viewed there. There was also an evening event at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in conjunction with the Hirshhorn's current exhibit, "Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950". it was a day-long event that was open to the public and featured panelists discussing various issues on the topic "Communicating Catastrophe". The 5th Doomsday Clock Symposium was held on November 14, 2013, in Washington, D.C. Information about the Doomsday Clock Symposium, a timeline of the Clock's settings, and multimedia shows about the Clock's history and culture can also be found on the Bulletin 's website. to become entirely digital the Clock is now found as part of the logo on the Bulletin's website. In 2009, the Bulletin ceased its print edition and became one of the first print publications in the U.S. In January 2007, designer Michael Bierut, who was on the Bulletin 's Governing Board, redesigned the Doomsday Clock to give it a more modern feel. Langsdorf chose a clock to reflect the urgency of the problem: like a countdown, the Clock suggests that destruction will naturally occur unless someone takes action to stop it. The Bulletin 's Clock is not a gauge to register the ups and downs of the international power struggle it is intended to reflect basic changes in the level of continuous danger in which mankind lives in the nuclear age. As Eugene Rabinowitch, another co-founder of the Bulletin, explained later: The Clock was first represented in 1947, when the Bulletin co-founder Hyman Goldsmith asked artist Martyl Langsdorf (wife of Manhattan Project research associate and Szilárd petition signatory Alexander Langsdorf, Jr.) to design a cover for the magazine's June 1947 issue. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they began publishing a mimeographed newsletter and then the magazine, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which, since its inception, has depicted the Clock on every cover. The Doomsday Clock's origin can be traced to the international group of researchers called the Chicago Atomic Scientists, who had participated in the Manhattan Project. History Cover of the 1947 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists issue, featuring the Doomsday Clock at "seven minutes to midnight" In January 2023, the Clock was moved forward to 90 seconds (1 minute, 30 seconds) before midnight and remained unchanged in January 2024. In January 2020, it was moved forward to 100 seconds (1 minute, 40 seconds) before midnight. The clock was moved to 150 seconds (2 minute, 30 seconds) in 2017, then forward to 2 minutes to midnight in January 2018, and left unchanged in 2019. The farthest time from midnight was 17 minutes in 1991, and the nearest is 90 seconds, set on January 2023. It has since been set backward 8 times and forward 17 times. The clock's original setting in 1947 was 7 minutes to midnight. The Bulletin 's Science and Security Board monitors new developments in the life sciences and technology that could inflict irrevocable harm to humanity. The main factors influencing the clock are nuclear warfare, climate change, and artificial intelligence. A hypothetical global catastrophe is represented by midnight on the clock, with the Bulletin 's opinion on how close the world is to one represented by a certain number of minutes or seconds to midnight, which is then assessed in January of each year. That is, the time on the clock is not to be interpreted as actual time. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor, not a prediction, for threats to humanity from unchecked scientific and technological advances. The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The Doomsday Clock pictured at its setting of "90 seconds to midnight", last changed in January 2023
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