Have you watched the horror movie Countdown? If not, what I am about to share with you comes really close to the plot of the movie. There’s a new app in the market and it predicts when you will die! Death Clock is a real app that claims that it can predict when a person will die based on various factors. The app was first launched in July and has been gaining a lot of traction ever since.
Death Clock is an AI-powered app which has been created by Brent Franson. It provides personalised life expectancy estimates based on various factors such as age, weight, lifestyle habits, and even smoking or drinking patterns.
The app relies on data from over 1,200 life expectancy studies, which involved around 53 million individuals. To find out their “death date” users have to enter details such as their birthdate, BMI, and lifestyle habits. The AI then uses this data to calculate their life expectancy.
Once the app predicts a user’s death date, it also offers to run a countdown on their phones. The app makers claim that this countdown is added to promote healthier choices rather than to provoke fear.
Imagine a countdown running on your phone which is telling you that you’re going to die in these many days. This is exactly the plot of the movie Countdown that I was talking about earlier. This instigated a lot of fear in the movie, and similar concerns have come up with the Death Clock too.
The developers say that this app has been designed to help people adapt to a healthier lifestyle. The app offers insights into how specific habits can impact longevity. In addition to predictions, the app provides personalised advice on improving lifestyle, including tips on maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, managing stress, and quitting smoking.
The app already has over 1,25,000 downloads and offers both free and subscription-based models. Despite its popularity, the app’s dependence on sensitive health data has raised privacy concerns. Critics worry about potential misuse of personal information, especially as AI systems become increasingly sophisticated.