Jeff Bezos bets $42 million on a clock for the end of humanity

In 2023, Jeff Bezos detailed his ambitious $42 million 10,000-Year Clock project located inside a remote mountain in West Texas. This engineering marvel is designed to tick once a year, chime every century, and showcase a cuckoo every millennium. The project, which began installation in 2018, aims to serve as a bold symbol for humanity's long-term thinking, a reaction to the short-term focus prevalent in modern society. Bezos emphasizes the importance of long-term planning as a means to tackle seemingly insurmountable challenges. The clock, standing 500 feet tall, integrates precision mechanics that capitalize on natural thermal cycles to ensure its functionality over millennia. Bezos believes that despite the clock's profound implications for future societies, the True influence of the project may not come to fruition for several centuries. He hopes that by anchoring people's understanding to a timeline as vast as 10,000 years, it will inspire more responsible actions aimed at ensuring the well-being of future generations. During an interview with Lex Fridman, Bezos confronted a provocative question regarding the endurance of human civilization. He noted that no nation-state has existed for anywhere near 10,000 years and expressed skepticism about humanity's prospects for longevity. He suggested that this historical context reinforces the urgency of adopting a long-term perspective, especially amidst a rapidly changing world. The unsettling notion that the clock may continue ticking long after current nations and governments may fall highlights a disconnect between short-term struggles and long-term survival. Ultimately, the 10,000-Year Clock stands not just as an engineering marvel but as a philosophical challenge to humanity. Bezos aims for it to become a living testament to the potential of long-term thinking, serving as a reminder for successive civilizations to prioritize future impact over immediate gratification. The ongoing construction of this historic project follows a vision which seeks to shift human focus towards thinking beyond the present, a necessary evolution for addressing the complex challenges ahead.