Showing 71 - 80 of 571
Can insurance come to our climate rescue?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 09/06/2023
» California's fall from grace has been steep and swift, and now even the insurance companies are pulling out. The two biggest American home insurance companies, State Farm and Allstate, announced last week that they will stop selling insurance policies to Californians. Why? Climate change-related wildfires are making it too risky to insure Californian houses.
AI is not going to wipe humans out just yet
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 05/06/2023
» I'm looking at a headline this morning that screams "AI Creators Fear the Extinction of Humanity", and I suppose they could turn out to be right. But it's still a bit early to declare a global emergency and turn all the machines off.
Have we passed the point of no return with AI?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 01/06/2023
» 'Sometimes I think it's as if aliens have landed and people haven't realised because they speak very good English," said Geoffrey Hinton, the 'godfather of AI' (Artificial Intelligence), who resigned from Google and now fears his godchildren will become "things more intelligent than us, taking control".
Who will take over when Putin regime ends?
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 29/05/2023
» Let us suppose that the current Russian regime collapses, with or without a Ukrainian military victory to give it a final shove. Who would be the least objectionable candidate to take over in Moscow?
The baby bonus just does not work any more
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 22/05/2023
» I was one of five children -- not seen as a particularly big family in Newfoundland at the time -- and there was one year when we allegedly beat Guatemala to have the highest birth rate in the world. (That's probably not true, but people were proud of it anyway.)
Syria: The rehabilitation of dictator Assad
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/05/2023
» There is no justice. Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator whose membership even the Arab League suspended 12 years ago, is off to Riyadh this week to celebrate his re-admission to the organisation. He will pay no price for his many crimes against humanity: the name of the game now is not retribution but 'rehabilitation'.
Turkey and its hundred-year culture war
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 12/05/2023
» Turkey's elections are fairly free, and there is going to be one this Sunday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power for two decades, and he should really lose by a landslide. Imagine what the United States would be like if Donald Trump had been in power for 20 years, and that's what Turkey looks like today.
A temperature spike in the sea spells doom
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 06/05/2023
» There is a fever raging in the ocean. Last month it was worst off the eastern coast of North America, where the sea surface temperature was as much as 13.8C higher than the 1981-2011 average for this time of year. Not only was that a record; it was an astounding leap upwards: more than double the previous record.
Massacres and guns, from the US to Serbia
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 09/05/2023
» Here's how to sound wise when writing a story about mass killings and gun control. Last week saw two such massacres in Serbia (eight deaths and nine deaths, respectively) and only one in the United States (eight killed in a mall in Allen, Texas).
Thailand: Back around in the circle again?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 02/05/2023
» There have been occasional violent episodes in Thai politics and one recent massacre (2010), but the struggle for a genuine democracy has usually been relatively restrained. Maybe that is why it has lasted so long.