A new app called Death Clock uses artificial intelligence to predict exactly when you will die, based on data such as diet choices, exercise, stress levels and sleep.
Available on Android and iOS in the U.S., the app offers free death date predictions and personalized recommendations through a $40 annual subscription.
Brent Franson, the app’s developer, told Bloomberg that AI was trained on a dataset of 1,200 life expectancy studies involving 53 million participants to provide more accurate predictions than traditional actuarial tables.
The app suggests lifestyle changes to increase longevity and features a countdown clock displaying your predicted death date, to the day, alongside a picture of the grim reaper.
Alexander Sikov/Getty Images
Despite its morbid premise, Death Clock is proving to be very popular, with 125,000 downloads since its July release, according to Bloomberg.
Newsweek has contacted the app’s developer via email for comment.
The app ranks highly in the health and fitness category and targets users interested in improving their habits to extend their lifespan.
Franson stated that such advancements in predicting mortality could help individuals make informed decisions about retirement planning and saving for the future.
“There’s probably not a more important date in your life than the day that you’re going to die,” he said.
Newsweek downloaded the app and gave it a try.
First, the user is asked a series of questions relating to age, diet, health and lifestyle choices. Each question has a link to the study, which underpins the value of the question.
After answering the questions, the app told the 25-year-old reporter that he would die on Monday, May 24, 2077, at the age of 77, with most likely cause of death to be cancer, liver disease, or heart disease.
If he had healthier lifestyle habits, it suggested he could live to 99 and asked if he wished to share the results on social media.
It then gives an option to use a free trial for the paid version of the app to give an “evaluation” on the user’s strengths and weaknesses, showing you likely causes of death, strengths and weaknesses, and lifestyle, medical and mental health factors.
It then gives a “longevity plan,” which advises the user to take various dietary supplements, use fitness tools (like a smart watch), undertake screenings for various diseases, and to speak with a doctor about certain issues.
Finally, it suggests “behavioral goals,” which when Newsweek used the app, included suggesting the reporter do cardio exercises, strength training, take a cold plunge and go on a meditation retreat.
