Year 2038 problem could be worse than Y2K as there's currently no solution to it

The Year 2038 problem could prove to be worse than Y2K, as there’s currently no universally agreed-upon solution for it.

You may recall there was a lot of hype about Y2K – or the ‘Millennium Bug’ – at the tail-end of 1999.

In the end, it was a bit of an anti-climax.

But with the Year 2038 problem fast approaching, should we be concerned?

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What is the Year 2038 Problem and should we be worried about it like we were for Y2K?

It may just be 13 years away, but relatively few people know about the ‘Year 2038 Problem’.

What is it exactly?

Well, it’s a time computing problem that leaves some computer systems unable to represent times after 03:14:07 UTC on 19 January 2038.

Seems oddly specific, right?

The reasons for why this is happening involves a lot of IT jargon that would go over the heads of most of us.

But here’s the crux – computer systems that use time for critical functions could encounter fatal errors if this issue isn’t addressed.

We’ve known about the Year 2038 Problem since 2006, so that gave us 32 years to fix it.

It should be no problem, right?

Well, not quite.

You see, there’s no universal solution on the table.

The one being most commonly proposed is to switch from a 32-bit integer to a 64-bit integer.

The former can only manage timestamps up until 2147483647, which  corresponds to January 19, 2038, at 03:14:07 UTC.

Paul Budde, the CEO of independent consultancy company Paul Budde Consulting, is an advocate for the switch to 64-bit.

“With 64 bits, there is more than enough room to store time values far past the foreseeable future, even if high-resolution (nanosecond-based) time values are used,” he wrote in a 2022 article for Independent Australia.

However, making the switch is anything but simple.

Many databases rely on 32-bit time, including medical devices, power stations, transportation systems, cars with computer systems, and a whole host of others.

If not addressed, the Year 2038 Problem could prove to be extremely disruptive.

Technology is fast moving – so let’s not panic just yet

But before you run into the doomsday bunker, take a breath.

Y2K came and went with relatively little fuss, and it’s generally agreed that we waited until the ‘last minute’ to address that.

And if there’s one thing we should know by now, it’s that scientists are extremely good problem solvers and work tirelessly.

We’ve got Neuralink chips achieving wonders, like helping this paralyzed woman write her name for the first time in 20 years.

We’ve even got humanoid robots doing laundry, and cigarette butts being used for road construction.

There’s no limit to what scientists can think of.

So here’s hoping that 2038 passes without issue.

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