Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April 29, 2024
Posted: 29th April 2024
A cattle farm. (Lewis Clarke via Wikimedia Commons. CC-BY-2.0)
GEORGIOS PAPPAS
Bird flu in cattle: A step closer to humans or a random event?
Scientists have kept an eye on H5N1 as the virus has swept around the world. Now, it’s been found in US cattle. Is bird flu one step closer to becoming a human pandemic threat? Read more.
JEFF CARUSO
Drink the Kool-Aid all you want, but don’t call AI an existential threat
Generative AI can wreak havoc in many ways but it’s not an existential threat any more than computer code is, a security researcher argues. Read more.
DARYA DOLZIKOVA, MATTHEW SAVILL
Why Iran may accelerate its nuclear program, and Israel may be tempted to attack it
After Israel’s attack, the Iranian regime may see the actual weaponization of its nuclear program as the only option left that can guarantee its security. Read more.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
An illustrated history of the world’s deadliest epidemics, from ancient Rome to Covid-19
As concerns around the spread of H5N1 grow, we look back at a history of the world’s epidemics, published last year. Read more.
IN THE NEWS
‘Are we doomed?’ Class debates end of the world—and finds reason for hope
A University of Chicago class taught by James Evans and Daniel Holz, chair of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, teaches students about how the world might end and “what can we do about it.” Holz and a student are interviewed for this article in the UChicago News. Read more.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“In the next few decades, a lot of coral will die — that’s pretty much a given. And to be clear, this reality is absolutely devastating.”
— Benji Jones, “The end of coral reefs as we know them,” Vox
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