J. Robert Oppenheimer, whose life story as the father of the atomic bomb won 7 Oscars this year, founded the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1945, together with Albert Einstein and other scientists. This high-caliber committee not only informs about developments in nuclear research to this day but has also been resetting the Doomsday Clock every year since 1947. The Doomsday Clock shows how close the world is to the brink of thermonuclear war. Since January 2024, the hands have been pointing to 90 seconds to midnight. Never before, warns this committee of researchers and Nobel Prize winners, has the risk of nuclear war been as high as it is now - through pure coincidence, pure intent, or gross misjudgment.
In fact, the danger also increases due to artificial intelligence, which takes into account the use of nuclear weapons as another component in the calculation of possibilities. In addition, there is the sword of Damocles called the super-GAU: Just this week, there was a drone attack on Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, which is under Russian control in the south of Ukraine.
In view of this real threat, Switzerland is doing the only right thing: It is organizing a peace summit in mid-June. If this is to be successful, it depends on Russia's involvement and its invitation to the Confederates. De facto, this means holding out the prospect of a compromise. Nobody wants to see or will survive a second part of Oppenheimer.