THE PROFITS OF DOOM: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society? In 1995, Kevin Kelly, a cofounder of Wired, challenged Kirkpatrick Sale to a $1,000 bet. The Luddite-loving doomsayer was predicting that society would collapse by 2020.  Kelly, inspired by the economist Julian Simon’s bet against Paul Ehrlich, got him to put his money where his doom was. Now, despite a biased referee, the better prophet has collected his winnings.