by Ellen Barry in The New York Times…We explore why rates of anxiety and depression are higher than they were before the pandemic.
The wide boundary impacts of AI with Daniel Schmachtenberger
by Nate Hagens in The Great Simplification…Artificial intelligence has been advancing at a break-neck pace. Accompanying this is an almost frenzied optimism that AI will fix our most pressing global problems, particularly when it comes to the hype surrounding climate solutions.
The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence
by James Alwine, et al in The Journal of Virology…Many questions about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 remain unanswered and may never be fully resolved. We cannot currently disprove the lab leak hypothesis. Nevertheless, the lines of evidence needed to validate one hypothesis over another are not epistemically comparable (16). Validating the zoonotic origin is a scientific question that relies on history, epidemiology, and genomic analysis, that when taken together, support a natural spillover as the probable origin.
Are journalists reporting the global polycrisis?
by Gabi Mocatta in Earth Journalism …This study clearly
establishes that
the term ‘global polycrisis’
is not widely recognized,
or used by journalists.
NEOM is a city of the future. The land is the cost.
by K.O. in Atmos…NEOM has been hailed as the future of the climate-resilient, smart city. But, for local communities, its construction threatens displacement and exploitation.
Silicon dreams and carbon nightmares: The wide boundary impacts of AI
by Nate Hagen in The Great Simplification…What are the environmental implications of a tool with unbound computational capabilities aimed towards goals of relentless growth and extraction? How could artificial intelligence play into the themes of power and greed, intensifying inequalities and accelerating the fragmentation of society? What role could AI play under a different set of values and expectations for the future that are in service to the betterment of life?
The indomitable Covid virus
by Eric Topol in Ground Truths…The Sato Lab in Japan recently characterized KP.3.1.1, as having the most immune evasion and infectivity of any of the variants derived from and including JN.1. And previously Ben Murrell showed clearly (below, right) KP.3.1.1 had the most prominent growth advantage of all circulating variants out there. No surprise it is rapidly rising to dominance here and elsewhere around the world.
Long Covid defined
by Dr. Ely et al, in The New England Journal of Medicine….We hope that the 2024 NASEM definition will facilitate communication among patients, such as those described in the clinical vignettes, and with family members and clinicians. A standard definition should enable better tracking of the burden of long Covid and facilitate the design and conduct of robust clinical trials that produce better treatments for this and other infection-associated chronic conditions. Above all, we hope that this definition contributes to compassionate and effective care for all patients in whom long Covid is diagnosed.
Food as you know it is about to change
by David Wallace-Wells in The New York Times…It can be tempting, in an age of apocalyptic imagination, to picture the most dire future climate scenarios: not just yield declines but mass crop failures, not just price spikes but food shortages, not just worsening hunger but mass famine. In a much hotter world, those will indeed become likelier, particularly if agricultural innovation fails to keep pace with climate change; over a 30-year time horizon, the insurer Lloyd’s recently estimated a 50 percent chance of what it called a “major” global food shock.
Why shifting from prediction to foresight can help us plan for future disruption
by Roger Spitz in World Economic Forum…As the world becomes more complex, foresight methodologies account for a greater set of possible futures.
Scenario development, a foresight methodology, is an alternative to prediction which can help map new possibilities.
Foresight may predict possible futures but more importantly, it allows for preparation.
More in this tag
Jul
06
2023
Global polycrisis: The causal mechanisms of crisis entanglement
by Dr. Michael Lawrence at The Cascade Institute….. In this framework, a global crisis arises when one or more fast-moving trigger events combines with...
Feb
14
2025
Creative but disorganised: why philanthropy won’t solve the polycrisis
by Barry Knight in Alliance Magazine…‘There are massive problems; climate, conflict, the economy are chief among them. Our international system for dealing...
Feb
13
2025
Strategic foresight toolkit for resilient public policy
from OECD…..A Comprehensive Foresight Methodology to Support Sustainable and Future-Ready Public Policy
Feb
12
2025
Playing with Time: Introducing a foresight practice to build hopeful futures through transformative stewardship
by Cat Tully in School of International Futures (SOIF)…My hope is that I inspire you to join in: to act, connect, support, and become part of a global movement...
Feb
11
2025
Rolling out the doughnut
in Beshara Magazine…We talk to Leonora Grcheva of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab about how Kate Raworth’s innovative economic theory is being translated into...
Feb
10
2025
Philanthropy and digital civil society: Blueprint 2025
by Lucy Bernholz in Blueprint 2025…Philanthropy and Digital Civil Society: Blueprint is an annual industry forecast about the ways we use private resources for...
Feb
10
2025
Futures Lab
in Futures Lab report in Horizon 2045…We look for evidence of the future that’s coming and in some cases is already here.
Feb
07
2025
From risk to resilience: Wildfires and the insurance industry’s climate reckoning
Doug Parsons interviews Dr. Carolyn Kousky in America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast…Carolyn shares insights on how the industry can respond to these...
Feb
06
2025
China’s ageing population: A demographic crisis is unfolding for Xi
by Laura Bicker in BBC…Over the next decade, about 300 million people, who are currently aged 50 to 60, are set to leave the Chinese workforce. This is the...
Feb
05
2025
Anthropocene under dark skies: The compounding effects of nuclear winter and overstepped planetary boundaries
by Florian Jehn in EGU…The analysis of global catastrophic events often occurs in isolation, simplifying their study. In reality, risks cascade and...
Feb
04
2025
Climate models can’t explain what’s happening to Earth
by Zoë Schlanger in The Atlantic…Global warming is moving faster than the best models can keep a handle on.