A decades-old doomsday prediction, made by three scientists in 1960, has resurfaced, claiming the world could end within weeks. The prediction, published in the academic journal Science, warned of a potential apocalyptic event on Friday, November 13, 2026.
The researchers—Heinz von Foerster, Patricia M. Mora, and Lawrence W. Amiot—reached their conclusion by studying patterns in Western civilisation. Their hypothesis was based on Earth reaching maximum capacity due to exponential population expansion. At the time of publication, the global population stood at roughly three billion; it has since surged to approximately 8.3 billion.
Von Foerster's AI Warning
One of the paper's authors, Austrian-American von Foerster, also made a shrewd forecast about the potential risks of AI, well before it became integral to daily existence. In a 1995 interview with The Information Philosopher, he clarified that it is dangerous to assume AI "thinks" in the same manner humans do.
Von Foerster, who died 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."
Overpopulation as the Cause
The scientists' catastrophic vision has nothing to do with nuclear conflict or natural disasters. In their view, the world's end will result from overpopulation. The global population is expected to reach approximately 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s before it eventually begins to fall.
British economist Thomas Malthus proposed as far back as 1798 that humanity would inevitably exhaust its food supply. He contended: "Famine seems to be the last, the most dreadful resource of nature." He added: "The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race."
His remarks were made during the industrial revolution, and agricultural improvements have so far succeeded in keeping pace with the expanding global population.
