While visiting my mother in Paynesville I attended a U3A (University of the 3rd age) discussion group my father regularly attended before his passing. It is concerned with current affairs. So I raised these three topics, it was my father’s job there to manage the discussion.
1. Global Warming
- Caused by burning fossil fuels – cars, power plants. These things have helped humans progress substantially but it’s time to save the planet
- 99% of scientists say it’s because of human activity
- Getting warmer
- Ice caps melting, water levels rising, Bangladesh example
- Will possibly cause human extinction
- What can we do?
- Power consumption, voting – greens perhaps?
- Promote renewables
2 Nuclear War
- The other big threat to humanity
- Countries with the bomb
- North Korea, Iran, Russia, France Israel, UK, US – Trump
- Trouble in the Middle East
- Israel’s killing of Palestinians and annexing of land may cause global conflict where the bomb might be used
3. Artificial Intelligence
- AI will take most human jobs – robots
- AI will enables humans to focus on life, leave the mundane to AI
- AI is an opportunity for evolution
- As dramatic as any human invention:
- Our first inventions were the use of fire, the wheel, language, money
- Socratesand Plato developed human thought
- More recent inventions like politics, education and flight.
- Now we have AI
- Stephen Hawking says AI is the biggest threat to humanity
All topical topics. The opening of the Israeli US embassy in Jerusalem was declared as recognising history and that makes history by the Israeli PM. Violent protests at the Gaza Strip over this killed dozens. I think the threat of Islamic radicalism will be exacerbated and cause further global unrest, and risk to life and limb, the so-called democratic and liberal way of life and commerce. It deserves a topic and discourse of its own.