A Harvard study predicted decades ago when the world would end: it’s only two years away

The end of the world is a recurring theme. In fact, it always has been. Since ancient times, many prophets and visionaries have claimed to predict it, and it still happens.

Not to mention those who predict that artificial intelligence will be responsible for humanity ceasing to exist the day it supposedly becomes self-aware.

What is remarkable is that such a prediction is carried out in a scientific manner. And even more so that those in charge of it are renowned Harvard scientists.

Well, it happened, specifically, back in the 60s. The study is there, for anyone who wants to see it, and if that were not enough, it gave a specific day when it would happen: Friday, November 13, 2026. There would be just two years left.

The end of the world is coming, according to Harvard

The work in question was developed by scientists Heinz von Foerster, Patricia Mora and Lawrence Amiot at Harvard University during the 1960s, it is One of the most intriguing works on population growth and its relationship to the future of humanity. It received the enlightening name of Doomsday: Friday, 13 November, AD 2026.

In turn, the main focus of the research was the use of mathematical models to analyze the exponential growth of the world population. The authors calculated that The human population was increasing at such a rate that, at some point, it would reach a critical point. in which the resources and space available on the planet would not be sufficient to sustain it.

The study became famous for predicting a specific date for the end of the world: November 13, 2026. Although it is important to note that the authors were not literally suggesting that the world would end on that very day, but rather that They noted that this would be the point at which population growth could no longer be sustained. and would result in a global crisis. The beginning of the end.

Since then, this warning, if one wants to consider it as such, has not been taken entirely seriously from a literal point of view, but there has also been no shortage of experts who have used it as a starting point to understand that the world is a finite system. They have even pointed out the need that will exist, sooner or later, to move to another planet.

Technology is always present

Although the 2026 date has been treated more as a theoretical experiment than a true prophecy, the study was influential in debates about population growth, limited resources and the implications for humanity’s future. It inspired further studies on population models and contributed to discussions on ecology and the limits of growth..

But the work is now back in the news for a curious reason: the date given for the apocalypse more than six decades ago coincides with the date given by many for the evolution of artificial intelligence. The two threats are not necessarily linked, but could it be that coincidence is scary?

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Tags: Curiosities