Wheels Keep Turning

 

A Little Chaos

I know it can be said of almost anytime, but what a truly exciting time to be alive! There is so much going on. Paying any attention to the news can feel overwhelming. News outlets are there to make money! As Beau says, "inflaming is more profitable than informing." Too many of us choose to live in information silos that reinforce our own beliefs rather than make us question them. Hey, I'm also guilty of this. Admitting I have blind spots encourages me look for different news sources and commentary. The key is not to dwell on all the bad things going on but all the good I can do. The world seems to be a big chaotic, scary place. For me that's the opposite of a big boring place. There is so much going on right now all at the same time. There are or will be books written on the following. 

 

Destabilization of Russia- Wars are always unpredictable. Putin's dream of a three-week “special military operation” evaporated as soon as Zelinsky Asked for ammunition instead of a ride out. I think this will be the undoing of Putin's regime. Well, that doesn't sound so bad until you stop and consider all the nuclear weapons laying around. How does the Russian government change and the nukes stay secure? I'm hopeful people with a much higher pay grade than me have been thinking about this. I don't have a clue.

 

Covid's warning- COVID killed millions of people all around the world. It is not the last global pandemic we will face. We had to fight the virus along with misinformation. Even if we get the science right and find a way to stop the next pathogen, misinformation can cause catastrophic levels of damage. This is one of the many costs of losing trust in basic institutions. It is good to question our institutions. We need to know how to verify the answers. Trust but verify.  

 

Climate change- no doubt the Earth is warming via farming, industrialization, and transportation- we are warming the planet at an alarming rate. We still don't fully understand all the consequences of this. I don't think it will end life on earth or necessarily end our civilization but things will change. Where we can farm, global shipping, global security arrangements and mass migrations are all going to change dramatically. 

 

Artificial intelligence- Now this is already changing how we live. Loan processing, the job application process, the legal field are already greatly influenced by artificial intelligence. The Artificial intelligence phenomena is just getting started. It will create a completely different world in the next 10 years or so. My gut tells me it will destroy more jobs than it will create. Like new  technologies that came before, changes will be a mixed bag of good and bad. I don't see a rise of killer robots taking over the world (check out Sea of Rust for a good take). Nor do I see a work-free future where robots feed us grapes as we recline on the couch.     

 

The race for rare earth metals- If we want to continue to enjoy things like smartphones, computers, TV's and other electronics, we will have to have massive amounts of rare earth metals. We will need to solve how to get them without destroying local environments and local cultures. Related but as an aside the Taliban is sitting on at least trillion of dollars worth. When it comes to resource extraction, people are not known for being exactly fair.

 

These are just a few of the issues we face that have profound implications. They are all interrelated and not going to resolve themselves. Learn more and vote accordingly. There is no "going back to a simpler time." I think any politician looking for answers in the past is not going to provide a future I want to live in. We need leaders who can think about more than over-simplified campaign slogans about a mythological past. I'll vote for bright, forward thinking leaders and then hold them accountable in the next election.