After enjoying several days of golf in warm Arizona, I returned home to hear about people hand shoveling their driveway five times a day after the heaviest snowfall of the season. I must admit I felt no guilt that I had coincidently escaped this event.
It appears this technology is on its way to both being a ‘gift’ and a ‘curse’. Some have changed and greatly improved aspects of our lives while others have been accused of threats to our civil rights, economy and democracy. AI has moved from an academic theory to quickly becoming a reality – think, facial recognition, self-driving vehicles, smart homes, interpreting medical tests, online shopping and cybersecurity to name just a few.
I like to read commentary by various writers on what they think will be most important occurrences in the upcoming year. I have a stack of “The Year Ahead” Maclean’s magazines, but also collect “The World Ahead” by The Economist.
When I began to contemplate what I would write as a year-end summary I was hopeful it would be easier than last year to make it more uplifting and hopeful that we were turning the corner to easier times.
Divisions and attempts to influence in politics is not new to those of us who pay attention to what appears to be directing our destiny. Compromise using logic and truth appears to be impossible.
After the darkness of 2020, it was tempting to just throw up your hands and focus on getting through the next day with a look forward to some unexpected new tax, or a new social bylaw. In other words, go to work, head down, and do not even consider making any fun comments around the water cooler. Who knows where that will end up? Avoid compliments to a co-worker that
may be misunderstood. The list goes on. In other words, have an opinion on nothing. Some people may view it as an
‘unacceptable opinion.’ Think convoys, parents and schools.
With house prices rising and homeownership becoming increasingly impossible for many Canadians, it’s a very convenient time for the Prime Minister to suddenly announce that “it’s not his job.” The rising cost of housing in Canada has reached a crisis point. If you ask the general public who’s to blame, you get a variety of answers. In a recent survey, 40 per cent readily pointed to the federal government, 32 per cent point to the provincial government and 6 per cent blamed municipal governments. The newly minted ministers at the Liberal Cabinet Summit declared housing a top priority but offered no solutions.
Some days it feels like our country cannot survive if the Trudeau Liberals are in control for another four years, and even six more months may be too long.
Throughout human history, people at various times have said technology has been both a blessing and a curse. It has definitely made life easier; it has obsoleted old systems and led to a higher standard of living for many. But, needless to say, it has also been disruptive at times with more to follow. It also gave people in power new ways for gaining, maintaining and expanding that power.
We have witnessed heated election campaigns before, but seldom with the level of vociferous anger witnessed during our recent provincial election. Many voters are feeling betrayed by the country they love and discarded from the information highway. But when does reasonable anger end and irrational hatred begin? We witnessed both during this provincial election. Some have even related it to occurrences that appeared during WWII.
