If you could find out exactly how and when you’ll die, would you want to know?
A new AI-powered death clock claims to be able to do just that, predicting the method and age at which you will die, right down to the second.
The free website, called the Death Clock, uses AI to analyze age, weight, and general outlook on life to ‘accurately’ predict how long you have left to live.
It also asks users to input information on lifestyle habits like drinking, smoking, diet, and exercise.
Users can also reveal their alleged cause of death and see how their life expectancy compares to other people of the same sex and body mass index (BMI).
The clock also calculates the exact age users will live to and countdown the days, hours, minutes, and seconds left until the reaper comes.
However, the website doesn’t take into account family history, health conditions, or mental health, which could also push the biological clock forward or backward.
After inputting all of the necessary information, the website generates a tombstone with your predicted death date.
Terrifyingly, it told me I would perish at 68, which is almost a decade below the average life expectancy in the US.
Death Clock, a free website, claims to ‘accurately’ predict how and when you’ll die, right down to the second
The above screenshot shows my results from Death Clock. I apparently have 39 years left to live and will die from ‘cancers’
As if that wasn’t enough of a blow, I was then prompted to click a box asking if I wanted to ‘reveal’ my cause of death. I was then told: ‘cancers.’
The Death Clock includes a disclaimer stating it ‘should be used for fun only’ because ‘this calculator is unlikely to predict your actual date of death.’
However, the science is finicky. When I changed my diet habits from ‘OK’ to ‘good,’ I instantly gained another 10 years.
Along with apparently now dying at 78, America’s number one killer – cardiovascular disease – is going to kill me this time.
And when I input all the same information as my first try a second time, everything stayed the same, except I was told I'd die of 'diarrheal disease.'
Though diarrhea is a leading cause of death in developing countries, it only kills around 300 Americans every year, so that was also a bit surprising.
It's unclear how exactly AI predicts exact times of death. Similar programs, like the unrelated Death Clock app, use life expectancy studies from agencies like the CDC.
The predicted deaths are based on the leading causes of death from the World Health Organization.
This screenshot shows how my results changed when I changed my diet from 'OK' to 'good.' I gained 10 extra years, but apparently I'm now going to die from cardiovascular disease
Users can only reveal one cause of death per test, and no explanation is provided about why someone might die from heart disease versus diarrhea.
Death Clock isn't entirely doom and gloom though.
Read More
Bill Gates issues chilling warning about the future of AI: 'Wow, this is a bit scary'
The site also provides tips on living longer than its predictions.
The experts recommend exercising for at least 30 minutes to reduce the risk of health issues like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
They also suggest steering clear of smoking, the leading cause of lung cancer, and avoiding alcohol.
In addition to physical health, the team also emphasizes maintaining social connections, as loneliness has been linked to brain wasting, leading to conditions like dementia.
As for the overall prediction, I'll have to wait until January 14, 2064 to find out if it's true.