Eight persistent economic myths help protect vested interests, deepen inequality and accelerate environmental destruction. The economy must be rebuilt around wellbeing, sustainability and justice. (more…)
Category: The Human Future
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EV charging needs national coordination
Australia’s EV charger rollout has been fragmented and incomplete. It’s time for it to be brought together as a coordinated network. (more…)
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The effects of global warming on Europe’s historic cities
European cities are having to face the dilemma of conserving their heritage and adapting to the effects of a warming climate. (more…)
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Environment: El Niño spells trouble for Aussies this spring
A new El Niño will likely bring heatwaves, droughts and health problems to southern Australia. In the UK, it’s already too hot for a warm beer. Wealthy nations are making very slow progress on emissions reductions. (more…)
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The madness of King Oil
Most governments remain hooked on oil instead of making the vital changes humans and the planet need for global energy transformation. (more…)
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Why Frankenstein still matters in the age of AI
Shelley’s portrayal of consciousness helps us to better understand why artificial intelligence cannot feel wonder or shame. (more…)
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Artificial stupidity…and the well-worn road to technicide
The allure of AI creating boundless productivity may lead, perversely, to zero demand and the death of society because it is too dependent on a technology. It has happened before. (more…)
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Is AI really as a good as a pure mathematician?
That AI was part of solving a pure mathematical problem 80 years after it was posed does not mean it is superintelligent. (more…)
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The downside of monetising cognition
As AI democratises cognitive labour, there is a risk of reducing the human capacity to think independently. (more…)
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Who will release the next pandemic?
The next pandemic may emerge from wildlife trade, intensive farming, land clearing, laboratories, global travel or antibiotic resistance, as human behaviour continues to multiply the risks of another major disease outbreak. (more…)
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Why agreeable AI could weaken human connection
AI systems are useful problem-solvers, but their tendency to affirm users and avoid relational discomfort can undermine responsibility, repair and the human connections that give decisions meaning. (more…)
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Man the desert maker; woman the healer
The solution to the desertification of the planet may well rest with women – since it is men who do most of the destroying. (more…)
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When the Earth’s well runs dry
Beneath our very feet, a silent crisis is unfolding. Unseen, unheeded, the Earth is running out of freshwater. (more…)
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A man-made comet is striking the Earth
From climate change and extinction to groundwater depletion and chemical pollution, human activity is now transforming the Earth on a geological scale with potentially catastrophic consequences for civilisation and life itself.
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The coming famine
The short-term world food crisis caused by the conflict in West Asia is superimposed on a far graver, deeper and longer-running risk of a collapse in global food production caused by the remorseless combination of climate change and losses of soil, water and biodiversity. (more…)
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Is AI the new God?
Paul Ham’s book, The Soul, A History of the Human Mind, is a stimulating challenge to our human ingenuity, which we must value in the face of soulless artificial intelligence systems and their narcissistic champions. (more…)
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Turning waste into wealth
A vast “circularity gap” is driving resource depletion and risk, but closing it could unlock trillions in value and reduce pressure on the planet.
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We’re soaking in it
Human waste is overwhelming rivers, oceans and ecosystems worldwide, driving pollution, disease and ecological breakdown on a planetary scale. (more…)
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Overpopulation is pushing Earth past breaking point
Scientific evidence shows humanity has exceeded Earth’s long-term carrying capacity, placing growing strain on the systems that sustain life and increasing the risk of global instability. (more…)
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A ‘small’ nuclear war would still be global catastrophe
There is no such thing as a “small” nuclear war. Even limited use would trigger mass death, famine and global collapse. (more…)
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Plastic is poisoning the planet – and us
Plastic pollution is no longer just an environmental issue – it is entering the human body at scale, with growing evidence of serious health risks. (more…)
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The greatest danger is not war – it is planetary breakdown
Human activity is pushing Earth beyond safe planetary limits, raising the risk of climate breakdown, ecological collapse and systemic global failure.
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The Age of Lies and the threat to civilisation
A global surge of misinformation – amplified by social media, AI fakery and organised disinformation campaigns – is corroding the foundations of democratic decision-making and public trust.
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Rising seas could menace a billion people this century
Accelerating sea level rise driven by warming oceans and melting ice threatens coastal cities worldwide, placing up to a billion people at risk before the end of the century. (more…)
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As the planet warms, more girls are being born
New research suggests rising temperatures may be skewing birth ratios towards females in overheated regions. At the same time, declining fertility and male-dominated industries driving climate change raise deeper questions about leadership and humanity’s future. (more…)
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Is algae smarter than politicians?
The world’s coral reefs are undergoing a fourth mass die-off, driven by rapidly accelerating global heating. As Julian Cribb explains, the science is clear – and the political failure to respond is not defensible. (more…)
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Water bankruptcy is no longer a future threat
Across large parts of the world, water demand now permanently exceeds supply. This is not a temporary crisis but a condition of irreversible scarcity driven by overuse, climate change and population pressure. (more…)
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When ecosystems fail, civilisation follows
A new UK security assessment warns that ecosystem collapse is no longer an environmental issue alone – it is a direct threat to global security, prosperity and human survival. Without urgent action, the consequences will intensify well beyond climate change.
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Why the Doomsday Clock still underestimates the risk of civilisational collapse
The Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight than ever before, but its latest warning still leaves out many of the forces pushing civilisation towards collapse. (more…)
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De-icing the Earth: a fatal decision
Global ice is melting fast, with major sea level rise and extreme heat locked in unless emissions fall sharply. The window to act is closing.