Doomsday prediction says world ends in weeks – scientist behind it was right about AI

A doomsday prediction made by three scientists in 1960 has resurfaced – the researchers claimed the world would end in a matter of weeks.

Scientists have predicted that doomsday is approaching before the end of 2026 – and alarmingly, one of them has already proved accurate about AI. As if existence wasn’t challenging enough with the cost of living crisis and a brutal job market, a decades-old prediction about the looming end of civilisation has re-emerged.

In 1960, the academic journal Science published research by three leading academics at the University of Illinois. It cautioned that a potential apocalyptic event was approaching on Friday, November 13 in 2026

The researchers – Heinz von Foerster, Patricia M. Mora and Lawrence W. Amiot – arrived at their chilling conclusion by examining patterns in Western civilisation. The hypothesis was founded on Earth reaching maximum capacity due to exponential population expansion.

When the research was released, the global population stood at roughly three billion – it has since surged to approximately 8.3 billion

This isn’t the first occasion people have forecast Earth’s destruction, but this research has garnered particular attention because it stems from scientific analysis. And one of the paper’s authors, the Austrian-American von Foerster, also made a shrewd forecast about the potential risks of AI, well before it became integral to daily existence for many.

He conducted an interview with The Information Philosopher in 1995 where he addressed the technology. Von Foerster clarified that it’s dangerous to assume that AI “thinks” in the same manner humans do.

Von Foerster, who passed away in 2002, contended that even if AI can execute tasks appearing intelligent – citing the hypothetical example of a robot reorganising blocks – it does not equate to human intelligence. He described this assumption as “dangerous”.

Jump forward 31 years and there are legitimate concerns about individuals today depending on AI for human-like interaction, with some even pursuing romantic relationships with chatbots.

Von Foerster’s remarkably accurate forecast about the future relationship between AI and humanity makes his apocalyptic warning all the more alarming. According to the scientist and his team, the world’s population will hit its ceiling in just over two months.