From apocalyptic weather to devastating violence to groundbreaking conversations on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and gender, these are some of the moments and issues that defined the past 12 months. Many of these issues are likely to linger on in 2024, which dawns tomorrow.
The War in Gaza
Climate Change is no longer a future threat. It is the world’s new reality. The year 2023 is likely to be the hottest year on record, unless 2024 breaks that record. Global temperatures have not been this high in 125,000 years.
Diplomats gathered in solemn forums like the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss plans and agreements on this issue. COP28 ended with a watered down resolution on moving away from fossil fuels in order to control global warming caused by greenhouse gases. But this was a good start.
The once-obscure phrase ‘Wet Bulb Temperature’ entered the lexicon as people worldwide learned firsthand that high temperatures combined with high humidity can kill. Optimists pointed to developments that could turn things around. Total investments in clean energy have soared. The cost of wind and solar power continues to fall and many emitters will reach peak emissions in the next few decades. Hydrogen is being touted as source of clean energy along with nuclear fusion, in which breakthroughs are expected next year.
This was the year that climate change became even more undeniable, and the world came together to negotiate major diplomatic wins for the environment, including the High Seas Treaty (HST), the Vanuatu Resolution, and the recent agreement by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to decarbonise global shipping.
Sri Lanka proposed to establish an International University for Climate Studies at COP28, along with a better framework for Climate Justice. Despite all these gains, there is some apprehension that Humanity may have missed its chance to avoid catastrophic Climate Change by the turn of the Century.
Space X
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu
On the technology front, Twitter Changed to X- Tech billionaire Elon Musk of Tesla and Space X fame bought Twitter last year and changed its name to “X.” After some ups and downs, he officially became the new owner on October 27, 2022. In July 2023, Musk started calling Twitter “X”. However, the future of the social media platform looks uncertain as advertised fled after Musk endorsed anti-Semitic posts by certain extremists. As for his other companies, Musk delivered the first examples of the long-promised and controversial Tesla Cybertruck, while two explosions back to back marred SpaceX launches.
Indian triumphs
Despite that incident, both countries and companies are making big bets on space. Seventy-seven countries have space agencies; sixteen countries can launch payloads into space. The moon has been of particular interest. Russia’s moon effort ended in disappointment in August when its lander crashed on the moon’s surface. Days later, India became only the fourth country to land an unmanned vehicle on the moon, and the first to do so near the moon’s South Polar region. Two weeks later, India launched a mission to study the sun. China and the United States also have ambitious moon programs, with NASA aiming to return astronauts to the moon by 2025. These and other space-related efforts are fuelling concerns that geopolitical rivalries will lead to the militarisation of space.
King Charles
On another front, in 2023, India exceeded China to become the world’s most populous country, boasting an estimated population of 1.43 billion people. Projections suggest that India is likely to maintain this status as the most populous country for decades to come. It is also likely to become one of the world’s biggest economies in the next decade. While demography is not destiny per se, it does constrain and enable every country’s opportunities.
This year, the world continued to undergo a massive demographic shift. In fact, 2023 marked the first full year that Earth hosted eight billion people, and there are more young people (aged between 15-24) alive today than ever before in history. The African continent and India in particular are experiencing a youth boom.
The Titan
Miss Universe 2023
Titan Submersible Incident: On June 18, 2023, the submersible named Titan, carrying five people, disappeared in international waters in the North Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Communication was lost one hour and 45 minutes into its dive to the wreck site. It was later found that the sub had imploded, pulverising the crew instantly at those huge pressures.
A massive search operation was launched first to find any survivors and once it was clear there was none, find the wreckage. Unfortunately, that same enthusiasm to save lives was not evident when a vessel carrying more than 500 migrants capsized at almost the same time, with both western countries and their media outlets receiving flak.
Turkey and Syria Earthquake: In February, Turkey and Syria experienced powerful earthquakes. The initial quake, measuring 7.8 magnitude, struck at 4:15 a.m., followed by a second one of 7.5 magnitude at 1:24 p.m., accompanied by numerous strong aftershocks that led to building collapses. The devastating impact resulted in a death toll of 59,000 in Turkey and 8,000 in neighbouring Syria.
Artificial Intelligence
Elon Musk
Optimists pointed to how AI was unleashing scientific breakthroughs at an unprecedented pace across a range of fields, enabling rapid drug design, unlocking medical and archaeological mysteries, and solving seemingly unsolvable mathematical problems.
Technology is developing faster than the ability of humans to assess and mitigate the harm it might cause. There are even fears that AI could create mass unemployment. AI burst into the public consciousness last year with the release of ChatGPT. In 2023, the technology based on so-called large-language models not only got better—the latest version of ChatGPT is reportedly ten times more advanced. There was also a bit of a scandal in the AI as OpenAI fired and re-hired its CEO Sam Altman practically on the same day. Microsoft also pledged to invest USD 10 billion in OpenAI soon afterwards. Geoffrey Hinton, one of the pioneers of AI, quit his job at Google to warn of AI’s dangers, and technology leaders like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak signed an open letter warning that AI poses a “profound risk to society and humanity.” Sceptics have argued that much of AI’s promise will be derailed because the models will soon begin training on their own outputs, leading them to become distant from actual human behaviour.
Conflicts
There are two intense theatres of war, one in Gaza and the other in Ukraine. Hopes were high early in 2023 that a Ukrainian counteroffensive might break Russia’s hold on eastern Ukraine and possibly Crimea. The much-awaited counteroffensive began in early June. Despite inflicting massive losses on Russian troops, the battle lines barely moved. With waning Western support in terms of funds and weapons, it is unpredictable how long Ukraine can continue the counteroffensive. Also, despite the biting sanctions, Russia’s war machinery is still strong and its Defence Minister has said it can recruit even 25 million men and women for the Armed Forces should the need arise.
Chandrayaan a success
However, Ukraine has made gains in terms of drone warfare, destroying several Russian Naval assets. A peace deal is unlikely even in 2024, judging by current events. With long-term trends potentially favouring Russia, calls have grown for Ukraine to pivot from offence to defence and to seek a ceasefire with Russia.
Russia’s war against Ukraine, an important agricultural exporting country, is also having a significant impact, such as further increases in food, energy and transport prices. The Russian military had also used the harsh winter and spring to prepare formidable defences. In Asia, people are concerned whether Taiwan and the South China Sea will become the next platform of a proxy war between China and the U.S. Tensions between the two countries are still high over various issues including trade. Tensions flared after a Chinese surveillance balloon appeared over the United States. It drifted across the country for a week before a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor shot it down off the coast of South Carolina. Beijing insisted that the balloon had been blown off course while monitoring the weather, an explanation the United States rejected.
On October 7, Hamas attacked Israel. Roughly 1,200 Israelis were killed, the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Some 240 people were taken hostage. Vowing to eradicate Hamas, Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, and then invaded northern Gaza.
A negotiated pause in the fighting at the end of November secured the release of roughly one hundred hostages. But fighting soon resumed with Israeli troops moving into southern Gaza. To date, more than 21,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, with the UN General Assembly passing several Resolutions calling for a ceasefire.
AI: A big issue in 2023
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press on with the military campaign regardless of world opinion “until Hamas is eradicated”. Even the US, a steadfast ally of the US, seems to have taken a neutral stance in the face of the harsh criticism. US President Joe Biden first backed Israel’s right to retaliate and travelled to Israel early in the conflict to show his support. By early December, however, US officials were publicly urging Israel to do more to protect civilians or risk “strategic defeat” and lose all support.
But other conflicts seem to have been forgotten in the melee. This year was supposed to be the year that Sudan became a democracy. The Sudanese instead got a civil war. The conflict had its roots in the protests that led Sudan’s military in April 2019 to overthrow the country’s longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir. The new military junta struck an agreement with civilian groups to share power and work towards elections. However, in October 2021, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, led another coup. In December 2022, the two men yielded to popular pressure and agreed to lead a two-year transition to civilian rule but this soon ended and fighting erupted again.
King Charless III
COP28
The coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom (UK) and the other Commonwealth realms, took place on Saturday, May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London. This was subsequent to the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The world’s media descended on London and every detail of the 1,000-year-old ceremony was dissected with fascination.
As King Charles waved to cheering crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony, the event was largely hailed a success. After the service, members of the Royal Family travelled to Buckingham Palace in a State Procession and appeared on the palace’s rear and front balconies.
The finals of the 72nd Miss Universe Pageant was held in magical El Salvador. Eighty-four Miss Universe delegates vied for the prestigious “Force for Good” crown. The evening culminated with the crowning of the 72nd Miss Universe, Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua. Sheynnis Palacios is a mental health advocate and audiovisual producer from Managua, Nicaragua. Palacios comes from a low-income family who sold fried dough balls, to put her through university, and her story seemed to resonate with many Nicaraguans and other impoverished South Americans.
Looking back at 2023, the year was defined by various international geopolitical events while the tech and business world kept a close eye on AI advances.
Polar bears hit by Climate Change
Despite troubling rollbacks in human rights worldwide, this year featured inspiring grassroots solidarity across issues, borders, and especially among women and young people. At the same time, leaps in technology, notably AI and Machine learning (ML), prompted renewed and urgent global discussions about safeguarding equality, security, and freedom in the digital realm.
Cyber security continues to be a problem with many businesses, organisations and government entities. This year news stories of major security breaches and the critical vulnerabilities in IT systems that led to them have dominated the cyber security sector. As the world looks towards 2024, solidarity won’t be just another buzzword; it will be our only option for survival with Climate Change threatening our very survival.
