Apocalypse radar: where billionaires fly

Apocalypse Early Warning System tracks private jets of the elite and looks for unusual bursts of flights. The idea is cynical: if billionaires are fleeing en masse, perhaps they know something.

Is it possible to predict a major catastrophe?just watching the private jets of billionaires? It sounds like a plot for a dystopia, but this is precisely the idea that the experimental project is based on Apocalypse Early Warning System.

Its creator, artist and programmer Kyle MacDonalduses open aviation data to track movements of approximately 11,000 private and business jets. The system looks for unusual bursts of activity: mass flights from major financial and political centers, movements to remote areas and routes that may look like an attempt by the elite to urgently leave a dangerous zone.

The logic of the project is simple and rather gloomy: if a nuclear crisis, a new pandemic, a financial collapse or another catastrophe is brewing in the world, the super-rich can find out about it before ordinary citizens. And if they begin to simultaneously fly away towards distant shelters, this in itself will become a signal. Well, yes, for ordinary people – a press release, for billionaires – a jet on the runway. Progress, as always, is unevenly distributed.

How does radar work?

The system analyzes flight data and sets the alarm level on a scale from 1 to 5. At the same time, it tries to filter out ordinary events like World Economic Forum in Davos or other large meetings where the rich already flock in flocks, like very expensive migratory birds.

If the algorithm sees atypical and massive movement of private jets from large cities towards remote destinations, the level of risk increases. The creator of the project emphasizes that this is not an official safety tool and is not an accurate prediction of a disaster. Rather, it is a social indicator of panic among those who have money, connections and their own plane.

In this sense, the application speaks not only about possible disasters, but also about inequality. Most people depend on official announcements from authorities, which are often delayed, to avoid panic. The elite can act earlier, relying on closed channels of information, communications and personal survival infrastructure.

Privacy issue and ElonJet example

Such projects also have a legal side. Data on private jet flights is often taken from open sources, including systems like ADS-B Exchange. But jet owners increasingly view such publicity as a security threat.

The most famous example is the story of a student Jack Sweeneywho created the account @ElonJet to track an aircraft Elon Musk. Musk first offered him 5000 dollarsso that he closes the account, calling it a security threat. Sweeney refused and asked for much more. Later, after purchasing Twitter, the account was blocked.

This story showed the main conflict: on the one hand, private jet flights leave an open digital footprint; on the other hand, rich and powerful people do not want society to see their movements. Especially if these movements may one day show who was the first to decide to escape.

Apocalypse Early Warning System so far remains more of an experiment and satirical commentary than a real “doomsday radar.” But the idea itself turned out to be accurate to the nerve of the era. People trust official reassuring statements less and less and increasingly look not at the words of the elites, but at their actions.

And if one day thousands of private jets actually take off simultaneously and fly away from major capitals, it may not be the best time to wait for the government’s evening briefing. Although, of course, they will definitely explain to us that everything is under control. Preferably from the bunker.

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