Past is Present!!

For many weeks, I was toggling with various ideas about what to write. While AI (Artificial Intelligence) was on top of mind, given that it's interesting, unknown, and stretches my imagination of the future. Learning the newer features of various AI tools, one gets lost in the information and, at the same time, marvels at the speed of change we are going through. However, in reality, all these futuristic thoughts are jolted by the recent unsettling and disturbing happenings. It feels to me like the clocks have turned back. Again, this depends on your age and when you will be reading these lines. It felt like I was back in February 2022, when the world faced yet another crisis in the form of conflicts in North East Europe.

It felt not so long ago, when there was panic all around, the energy prices and food shortage almost doubled first due to COVID-19 and then due to the war. I also remember how I had to set austerity measures on my small pocket to make a comfortable living. During that time, it felt like an arduous journey for many to make ends meet. Nevertheless, in hindsight, many managed to get through it well. Again, it depends on the perspective you take on the situation. Many of us were extremely blessed to be safe, have enough food, and even managed to make the most of the open skies, travelling to various beautiful places. I am acutely aware and humbly accept the fact that many continue to face challenges. I think all these difficulties and challenges teach not only how to sail through them but also to learn our lessons to be prepared for the next one. Little did I know that exactly four years later, the world would be forced into yet another conflict.

The past few weeks have been disturbing and disruptive to millions. Obviously, there will be collateral damage from wars and conflicts. Unfortunately, we haven't yet found a better way to bypass wars. I feel human patience and tolerance are on thin ice now. We have progressed enough to bomb territories afar, but we are not courageous enough to

reform and improve things in our backyard. It's terrible to see that we continue to face the burdens of conflicts and wars for no fault of our own. I personally feel these conflicts are a burden on my small pocket. Why should I bear the cost of rising energy prices, food shortages, price fluctuations, and travel bans, or the exorbitant cost of travel? Like millions, I am a normal world-citizen paying my taxes and working hard to make a better living.

Such troubling thoughts often cross my mind. However, I noticed how casually I, and maybe many like me, attend such events. For many, it's just news, sitting on a comfortable chair, holding a mobile in hand, and surfing through various media channels to understand the latest situations as mere spectators. Even to me, writing these lines sitting comfortably and not worrying about the next drone attack feels normal. But, for many others, it's a matter of life. Of getting food on the table, of making ends meet, of surviving through the debris of havoc caused by someone's mistakes. Imagine the image of the world they might be painting. Obviously, survival is the most important, and yet time and again we are threatened with our safety. I wonder if world peace is really possible. Or we will have to live in pockets of peace. With the current view, it feels like a long time for us to stabilize and adjust to a new normal, yet again.

There are times when I pin my hopes on AI to neutralise the human difference and help us solve our most complex problems. However, I reckon that my hopes might be fragile. As those building the foundations of AI are hell-bent on including conflicts and strategies, raising a question mark on its neutrality. We don't know what the world will look like once AI and a few people controlling it take over. I feel the whole past is still very much present, and we have a long way to go to learn and improve our dealings for a better future.