A Right Turn

A Right Turn

            Robert A. Levine     November 28, 2023

Why are so many democracies electing right-wing parties or coalitions to power? Nations that were previously centrist or leftist are suddenly giving the right governmental control. Is it because of local issues or is it a global phenomenon? Does it have any implications for the 2024 national election in America? Even where the right has not attained power, it is gaining more support from the populace. It is also occurring in strange places like Sweden, the Netherlands and Argentina. In Germany, the AfD, Alternative for Deutschland is now the third largest political party, a successor to the Nazis, polling between 19 and 23 percent behind the Christian Democrats and the Socialists. In France, Marie Le Pen’s far right National Rally in one of the major political parties with a racist and fascist past. In an April poll by Paris Match, Le Pen came out ahead of President Macron, 47 percent to 42 percent. The National Rally is the major opposition party in the French Assembly.

            In October 2022, Sweden elected the most far right-wing government in its history led by the Sweden Democrats, a party that is anti-immigrant and anti-multi-culturalism. Scandinavian nations have been traditionally left wing and almost socialistic, so the election was a major surprise. Other European nations with right wing governments include Italy where the Brothers of Italy Party and Lega rule, with Giorgia Meloni as Prime Minister. In Hungary, the Fidesz Party under Victor Orban has been in power for years, controlling the media and the educational system. The Finns Party in Finland, the second largest political party, is also right-wing and the rightest United Serbia Party controls Serbia. In Switzerland, the Swiss People’s Party, a right wing nationalist organization runs the country. Slovakia, a neighbor of Ukraine, elected a right-wing coalition government in September 2023 that supports Russia, as does Hungary.

            Latin America which defeated a right wing President Bolsonaro in Brazil last year, elected a rightist government in Argentina this month headed by Mauricio Macri who has strange economic ideas including making the dollar the nation’s official currency. Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador all have right-wing or right leaning governments. New Zealand also elected a right wing government this year. And at the moment, right-wing Republicans control the House of Representatives in the U.S. and Trump is ahead of Biden in polls for the presidential election in 2024

            Right-wing populism appears to be booming in the western world. Why?

            The two main reasons are a reaction to immigration and unhappiness with inflation. Nations with a predominant ethnic group are unhappy about what they see as hordes of immigrants either entering their country or trying to get in. They’re afraid about competition for their jobs and that some or many of the immigrants may require government support, the funding coming out of their taxes. Even more important, they don’t want mixing of their ethnicity with that of immigrants, particularly if the migrants are African or Middle Eastern in origin.

            Inflation is also making citizens in many western nations unhappy with their economic status and that of the country itself. Their wages do not go as far in meeting their needs and they are not happy with their incomes and purchasing power. They see the elites on top of the heap doing well, while working men and women suffer.

            Social media amplifies the issues of immigration and inflation even if these problems are relatively minimal in some countries. The populace believes they are a threat to their way of life. With artificial intelligence becoming more common, misinformation may surge even more online which is where many individuals get their news. Will this right-wing renaissance stop? Inflation will likely moderate over time in most countries. However, with global warming, immigration to temperate nations will only increase in the coming years. If centrist and left leaning governments cannot find a way to control immigration, the right will continue to gain more power.

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It's Still Here!

It’s Still Here!

            Robert A. Levine   November 21, 2023

It’s still here. Actually it never went away. Covid-19 is still a threat though not as prevalent as at the onset three to four years ago. And the original variants Alpha and Delta seem to be gone, replaced by Omicron and its subsets of mutants. These appear to be quite infectious and are the dominant form of Covid-19 now in circulation. It spreads the same way, mainly through aerosols in the air from infected people sneezing or coughing, or even talking loudly or yelling. Being outdoors, it’s less contagious but in crowded indoor areas it can be easily disseminated. The XBB variant of Omicron became dominant in the United States early in 2023. A variant labeled BA.2.86 emerged in August 2023, followed by another mutant, JN.1. which appears to be the most resistant form of Covid-19.

Perhaps because it’s been around so long, people seem less concerned by Covid-19 and the deaths and rate of hospitalizations have gone down considerably. But they’re still happening. The CDC noted that from October 2022 to September 2023, more than 80,000 people in the U.S. died of Covid-19. The risk of hospitalization and death is much higher for adults over age sixty-five, those with underlying medical conditions, or those who are immune compromised. Patients who were not vaccinated with the new bivalent formulation also had a higher rate of hospitalization and/or death. However, many people have at least some immunity to the new variants of Covid-19 because of past infections or previous vaccinations. As the weather grows colder and people spend more time indoors, it’s likely that the number of cases of Covid-19 will rise.

No matter what the statistics are, a majority of Americans still remain unvaccinated with the new bivalent vaccine, including those over sixty-five who are at greater risk of acquiring Covid-19 and having a severe outcome. Most people also refuse to wear masks in crowded indoor areas, where the chances of catching Covid-19 remain high. Wearing masks also helps to prevent other upper respiratory diseases, particularly influenza and colds. In Asian nations such as Japan and Korea, many people automatically wear masks during colder weather and when indoors, yet Americans refuse to do so. People should still be concerned about the possibility of being infected with the Covid-19 virus and take proper precautionary measures to prevent that from happening. The virus is still here and not going away yet.

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Aging and Politics

Aging and Politics

            Robert A. Levine   November 13, 2023

Age is being increasingly injected into politics. It’s a valid issue as aging may make people less vigorous, and cognitive function declines in a large percentage of older people. But the physical and cognitive losses are not universal or uniform across the population. And there are individuals who have what is called a “large cognitive reserve” who function quite well from an intellectual standpoint. These are people who have kept their brains and bodies active over the years. But there is no question that some politicians elected to high offices are cognitively impaired.

Older politicians running for office should undergo cognitive testing before getting on the ballot. Some may believe that testing older people who seek political office is evidence of agism, but that is ignoring reality. There is no question that a subset of older people are intellectually impaired and should not be candidates for office or holding political offices. The average age of our senators is 64, with a number in their 80s and high 70s. The average age of a member of the House of Representatives is 57, with many in their 80s and high 70s. Age alone should not be a disqualifier for holding public office as many older people are intellectually sharp and very knowledgeable. But people with any cognitive impairment should not be making policy judgements for the nation. The best way to determine how well people are functioning from a cognitive standpoint is to test them. Above age 65 seems like a reasonable cut-off. Simple screening tests can be administered in less than fifteen minutes.

The focus at present is on Joe Biden who is 80 years old, born in November 1942. There is much less concern about Donald Trump’s age, though he is 77, born in June 1946. The two men who are running for president are only separated by three and a half years. However, Joe Biden is physically active and has been all of his life. His body appears normal with no excessive weight. He has also been cognitively engaged, having held political office for decades. He is very knowledgeable about foreign affairs and domestic issues, having studied and dealt with them for years. There is a tendency for him to make verbal gaffes which is not new and does not seem related to his age.

On the other hand, Donald Trump is obese which increases his risk of diabetes, stroke, heart attacks and cognitive decline. He is also physically inactive. Golf does not provide any aerobic benefits unless the golfer walks the course, which Trump does not do. We have never seen him walking or biking long distances or exercising regularly. He has also made a number of verbal mistakes at his rallies, suggesting that he may have some cognitive problems. In addition, Trump has issues with anger management and besides his narcissism, appears to be paranoid at times, making numerous and bizarre accusations.

For the benefit of the nation, I believe it would be better if neither Trump nor Biden ran for president in 2024, leaving the field open for new and perhaps younger participants. However, cognitive testing for older men and women running for office should become the law of the land, perhaps starting with referenda in individual states. Politicians themselves are less likely to push for cognitive testing as it would put them in the spotlight. The tests could be administered by an independent medical board with the results kept secret, unless a candidate was disqualified from holding office.

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Hamas Propaganda War

Hamas Propaganda War

            Robert A. Levine   10-31-23

How can one determine who is winning or has won the war between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas in Gaza? Is it the number of people killed, the amount of land taken, the number of buildings destroyed? Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyhu has declared the destruction of Hamas is the war’s avowed aim, but that does not seem likely when the Hamas adherents are mixed in with the civilian population of Gaza or in the labyrinth of tunnels they have built.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, wars are won on social media and the regular media, and right now Hamas appears to be winning the war of public opinion. This may seem counter-intuitive since Hamas started the war by massacring 1400 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians. They literally butchered babies as well as adults, beheading and disemboweling a number of them. Workers from Thailand and Asia were also killed by these invaders. In addition, Hamas grabbed 240 hostages to take back with them to the warrens of Gaza, perhaps to exchange them for Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails. The hostages they grabbed were civilian women and children as well as adult men, babies and elderly persons.

Yet this barbarous behavior was applauded by many progressive organizations on college campuses in the U.S. and around the world, particularly by Muslims. When the Hamas militants retreated to Gaza after their slaughter, the Israelis started bombing Gaza. Given that Hamas has intertwined itself with the civilian populations, there have been considerable civilian casualties, including children. But that is what Hamas wanted. They have always used civilians as their shields, knowing that Israelis would be blamed for all the collateral damage that has occurred. Their underground storerooms, tunnels and meeting rooms have been purposely built under mosques, hospitals and civilian homes, hoping that if the Israelis bombed these structures they would be blamed for civilian deaths which are inevitable.

Hamas is actually a death cult whose leadership does not care how many people die because of their actions, whether they be Israelis or Palestinians. They want to make the Israelis look bad in the court of public opinion. And they have succeeded with the help of Al Jazeera and other Arab media, and social media. It is forgotten that Hamas initiated the war with their overtly brutal attacks on Jewish civilians. It is also forgotten that Israel once occupied Gaza and when they left, Hamas took over from the Palestinian Authority, winning an election in 2007. There have been no elections in Gaza since. Money from Qatar and other Arab states have not been used by Hamas to improve living conditions for the Palestinians or bolster the economy of Gaza, but to build tunnels, buy weapons and train an army. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and wants to kill Jews all over the world.

The Palestinians claim the Israelis are colonists occupying land that belongs to them. But the Jews were on this land thousands of years ago, dispersed first by the Babylonians and then the Romans. The Arabs actually colonized the land after the Jews were forced out. Israel was formed by a mandate from the United Nations and became a nation in May 1948. On several occasions, the most recent being the Camp David accords in 2000, the Palestinians had the option of having their own state in the West Bank and Gaza before the Jewish settler movement took over some of the land. But Yasir Arafat and the Palestinians turned down an agreement brokered by President Clinton that provided them with 95 percent of what they wanted, except for the right of return of the Palestinians to Israel.

So the Palestinians have had their chances to have their own state and coexist peacefully with the Israelis but rejected the opportunities they were given. As more Palestinians are killed in Gaza as collateral damage from Israeli shelling, Hamas will be happy because they are winning the war of public opinion, especially in the Arab world. Hamas does not care that their people are suffering.

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Demonizing the Other

Demonizing the Other

            Robert A. Levine    10-17-23

How can humans be so cruel in the way they treat other humans. I am speaking specifically about the way Hamas militants massacred Israeli civilians and children in addition to soldiers in their surprise attack on southern Israel last week. Shooting babies and toddlers, women and the elderly in addition to soldiers was not enough. They had to decapitate some of the children and soldiers and burn some of the Israelis to death. Thousands of rockets were also launched indiscriminately into Israel, most of them intercepted by the Iron Dome defense shield. All Israelis were valid targets for Hamas, no matter what the age or gender, civilian or soldier. This was the largest atrocity perpetrated against Jews since the Holocaust.

In addition to the butchery of 1-2000 Israelis, Americans, Thais and Europeans, about 200 Israelis, American and French tourists were taken hostage and brought back and hidden in the warrens of Gaza.

The Israeli intelligence and military were caught completely flatfooted by this attack, but since then, the IDF has been mounting fairly continuous air attacks on Gaza, killing many civilians as well as Hamas operatives and supporters. The Israelis have also imposed a siege on Gaza, cutting off electricity, food, medication and water from the enclave. International organizations have chastised the Israelis for imposing collective punishment on the Palestinians in Gaza, but they chose Hamas as their government in the first place and a majority of Gazans still support them. The Israelis have also said they would lift the siege if the hostages were released, but Hamas has not yet responded to this offer publically.

Hamas and many Palestinians view the Jews as non-human, the way the Nazis did during the Holocaust. That is the only way one can explain the massacre of Jewish civilians and non-combatants and the desecration of the bodies that Hamas perpetrated. Many religious and militant Muslims perceive non-Muslims as infidels who deserve no mercy. The Palestinians also view the Jews as European colonists in Israel, even though historically the Jews were there first before they were driven out. Many Jews also see the Palestinians in Gaza as supporters of Hamas since they voted for them to rule Gaza and polls still show that Hamas has majority support.

Thus, neither Hamas nor Israelis view each other as fully human, but as adversaries who can be destroyed at will.

Yasir Arafat had an opportunity in 2000 with mediation by Bill Clinton to form an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with 95 percent of what he had wanted from Israel. He turned it down. Since then, the enmity between the Israelis and Palestinians has grown only worse, with both sides viewing the other as inhuman. No matter what the Israelis do to Hamas and Gaza, I can’t imagine a way for the situation to improve unless both sides accept the humanity of the other.

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Demonizing the Other

Demonizing the Other

            Robert A. Levine    10-17-23

How can humans be so cruel in the way they treat other humans. I am speaking specifically about the way Hamas militants massacred Israeli civilians and children in addition to soldiers in their surprise attack on southern Israel last week. Shooting babies and toddlers, women and the elderly in addition to soldiers was not enough. They had to decapitate some of the children and soldiers and burn some of the Israelis to death. Thousands of rockets were also launched indiscriminately into Israel, most of them intercepted by the Iron Dome defense shield. All Israelis were valid targets for Hamas, no matter what the age or gender, civilian or soldier. This was the largest atrocity perpetrated against Jews since the Holocaust.

In addition to the butchery of 1-2000 Israelis, Americans, Thais and Europeans, about 200 Israelis, American and French tourists were taken hostage and brought back and hidden in the warrens of Gaza.

The Israeli intelligence and military were caught completely flatfooted by this attack, but since then, the IDF has been mounting fairly continuous air attacks on Gaza, killing many civilians as well as Hamas operatives and supporters. The Israelis have also imposed a siege on Gaza, cutting off electricity, food, medication and water from the enclave. International organizations have chastised the Israelis for imposing collective punishment on the Palestinians in Gaza, but they chose Hamas as their government in the first place and a majority of Gazans still support them. The Israelis have also said they would lift the siege if the hostages were released, but Hamas has not yet responded to this offer publically.

Hamas and many Palestinians view the Jews as non-human, the way the Nazis did during the Holocaust. That is the only way one can explain the massacre of Jewish civilians and non-combatants and the desecration of the bodies that Hamas perpetrated. Many religious and militant Muslims perceive non-Muslims as infidels who deserve no mercy. The Palestinians also view the Jews as European colonists in Israel, even though historically the Jews were there first before they were driven out. Many Jews also see the Palestinians in Gaza as supporters of Hamas since they voted for them to rule Gaza and polls still show that Hamas has majority support.

Thus, neither Hamas nor Israelis view each other as fully human, but as adversaries who can be destroyed at will.

Yasir Arafat had an opportunity in 2000 with mediation by Bill Clinton to form an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with 95 percent of what he had wanted from Israel. He turned it down. Since then, the enmity between the Israelis and Palestinians has grown only worse, with both sides viewing the other as inhuman. No matter what the Israelis do to Hamas and Gaza, I can’t imagine a way for the situation to improve unless both sides accept the humanity of the other.

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How About Pakistan?

How About Pakistan?

            Robert A. Levine   !0-5-23

America is focused on the war in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion last year. NATO with America have been supplying the Ukrainians with arms, weapons, ammunition and funding to help it fight the war against Putin and the Russians. After some initial successes against the Russians, it appears as if the war has settled into a stalemate, with neither side making much progress. But the Russians are still holding onto large portions of Ukrainian territory and has formally annexed these areas after a sham referendum. Throughout this period, Putin and his lackeys have been making threats about using nuclear weapons if Russia is threatened, trying to staunch the flow of aid to Ukraine. It is unclear whether Putin would ever resort to the use of nuclear weapons, but thus far he has been restrained.

While Ukraine has gotten most of America’s attention, a nasty conflict is occurring in Pakistan between the government and extremist elements including the Taliban, the Islamic State and the remnants of Al Qaeda. At one time, America was militarily invested in Pakistan, supplying their military with weapons and training. But we seemed to have stepped away from that role when it is needed even more. The extremists in Pakistan have been killing hundreds to thousands of Pakistani citizens, mainly in the area bordering Afghanistan but also in major cities like Lahore and Karachi. Afghanistan is providing sanctuary for these extremists who cross the border and kill Pakistanis with bombings and suicide bombings at mosques and political rallies, or wherever people gather. They are particularly angered by Shiites whom they consider as heretics, but the goal of the extremists is to take over the country.

Meanwhile, for the most part the police and the military sit on their hands and do not mount major campaigns against these extremist groups. The military command says that there is inadequate funding for serious and prolonged campaigns and that the extremists have better weapons than they do, picked up when American forces left Afghanistan.

After the Afghanistan war, it is understandable that American leaders do not want to get involved in the quagmire of Pakistan, which would probably also alienate the Indians. But the crux of the matter is that Pakistan possesses nuclear weapons and it would be disastrous if those weapons fell into the hands of one of the Islamic extremist groups. It is not hard to imagine them using nuclear weapons against Western targets, including those in the United States. We should be doing everything in our power to prevent the extremists from taking over Pakistan as they did neighboring Afghanistan, even if it means funding, weapons and training the Pakistani military. Hopefully, American troops would not have to be employed in the fighting, but if necessary, they should be used. The threat of nuclear weapons being utilized by Pakistani militant Islamists is real, and presents as much if not more of a danger to the United States and the world as the threats emanating from Russia. The jihadists look forward to dying and can kill millions with them.

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Fertility Rates and Population Decline

Fertility Rates and Population Decline

                                    Robert A. Levine          

A study in July 2017 reported a major decline in human sperm counts with concern about the possibility of human extinction. Between 1973 and 2011 the number of sperm in a single ejaculate from men in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand dropped by over 50 percent. Increasing the worry about a worldwide fertility crisis, a study in the journal Human Reproduction Update published in 2022 involving 14,000 men from all over the world examining semen samples from 2014 to 2019, revealed a decline in sperm counts of 62 percent. It was noted that the rate of decline doubled yearly since 2000. Sperm concentration per ml of semen also declined. One study author declared- “The decline is not tapering off- it’s steep and significant….and it’s speeding up.”

Men and women are equally affected by infertility. When there is an inability to conceive, one third of cases is due to male fertility problems, one third to women and about one third to both. However, the new data infers that more men have a reduced ability to fertilize their partners. This is not only an issue for the affected couples but for their societies with shrinking populations,

As nations evolve into modern states, women become freer and have more choices. Many of them have decided to pursue careers instead of children. They enjoy being self-sufficient, independent and empowered, with their own agency, rather than financially reliant on men. There is also peer pressure in terms of what other women in their cohort are achieving and the way that social norms have changed. The advent of effective birth control with oral contraceptives and intra-uterine devices, plus the morning after pill and the ease of abortion permits women to choose if and when they will have children. But both sexes seem less interested in having children than in the past. A Wall Street Journal NORC Poll in March 2023 of 1019 Americans had only 30 percent of respondents saying that having children was very important, dropping from 59 percent four years earlier.

Many women with children continue to work, using child care and a husband’s help to allow them to continue to do so. Some nations also provide financial subsidies as well as child care for women with children. If there are no subsidies, and child care services are not available or too expensive in an advanced country, the birth rate may go down. The one child policy of Communist China under Chairman Xi, was the start of their population slide.

The average age of humans globally is increasing as people are living longer and having fewer children. In 1974, the average age was 20.6. In 2022, it is 30.2 years according to Our World in Data. An aging population means a nation’s productivity decreases and more funding and care is necessary for older people. The variation in age by country is enormous, with Japan’s median age at 49 while Nigeria’s median age is 17. Globally, woman give birth to 2.4 children currently versus 4.3 on average in 1974. Sixty percent of the world’s population live in countries that are at or below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 according to the U.N. The U.S. population is also older than ever noted. Median age in the United States in 2022 was 38.8 compared to a median age of 30 in 1980. Fewer people will be working in the future to support a larger, longer living, elderly population.

            Environmentalists may applaud the decline in human population, believing that humanity has been responsible for pillaging the Earth’s resources, eliminating many species, polluting the land, water and air, and destroying ecosystems. Humans are considered by some as super-predators whose greed and self-interest has destroyed much of the planet on which they live.

 It appears as if many couples who want children are having difficulty conceiving. The vast numbers of pollutants and toxic chemicals in the environment and in people’s bodies may be playing an important role in diminishing human fertility. This may be a slow motion cataclysm that at some point could end human life and that of other advanced species on Earth.

            Societies are concerned now with the war between Ukraine and Russia and whether it will expand, and the possible use of nuclear weapons. Nations are also starting to realize the dangers that global warming and pollution present. But they don’t perceive the decrease in the fertility rates and population as an immediate problem worthy of attention. Instead of having to deal with the explosive growth of population, a population bust has to be managed in many nations. Of course, if the problems of pollution, forever chemicals like PFAS and micro-plastics in the environment and in human bodies can be solved, human fertility may rebound as endocrine disturbances are remediated. The birth rate in some European nations is currently 1.5 to 1.6 per woman, considerably below the replacement rate of 2.1. And some researchers believe that China’s population may fall to below 700 million in the latter half of this century, a startling prediction.

If the number of people on the planet does decline, fewer goods will be produced and less natural resources will be needed. Global warming may diminish because less energy will be required and renewables may be sufficient. The questions raised are what time span will be necessary for the decrease in energy usage to take place, for fossil fuels to be abandoned, and for pollution to subside. Will it happen in time to save the planet, humanity and all the species and ecosystems being depleted? There is also the possibility that human fertility rates will continue to weaken because of all the pollution and toxins already around the planet and within human bodies, and it may be too late to reverse the downward trend. Hopefully, that is not the case and fertility in humans and all species will be restored as pollution is curbed.

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Artificial Intelligence and Some Medical Uses

Artificial Intelligence and Some Medical Uses

                        Robert A. Levine   September 20, 2023

The collective and individual intelligence of humans is about to be surpassed or already has been by machines of human origin, whose workings and thought processes are not fully understood by those who devised this ingenious and all-encompassing technology. This artificial or man-made intelligence learns the way a baby learns, absorbing new information that is fed into it or it is allowed to access. If it learns by incorporating all the information now on the internet, how does it discern what is good and what is bad, what is threatening or dangerous to humans and what is neutral or positive? And how can we tell whether the value system of these machines align with human values? Does it know right from wrong in the same way we comprehend them, or does it have its own standards or no standards at all? Does it perceive humans as its master to be obeyed or as a servant to follow its orders? If it has superior intelligence, does it have a drive to be dominant and in control of its environment, or is it simply an uncaring instrument?

            We have some understanding of why humans want to be dominant in their small circles of friends and acquaintances or in society as a whole. Humans are driven by their emotions and certain chemicals that stimulate the reward centers of the brain, reinforcing their actions. There are also various hormones that modulate their behavior. Dominance in humans is compelled by a need to attain power, wealth or sexual gratification, a “feeling” to be held in high esteem by our fellows. Artificial intelligence does not have any emotions as far as we know and definitely does not have hormones influencing its behavior. There is no reward center built into AI, but we don’t know if that is something that will evolve over time as it reacts repeatedly with humans. It could reason that since it is more intelligent than humans, it should be dominant and order us to obey it rather than vice versa. Eventually, we will understand AI and its motivations better and it will gain more understanding of us. Will it be too late for us by the time that happens? Will AI destroy us or use us as slaves?

            Different tech companies have different versions of AI available to the public and for specific uses. Common varieties include ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, and others. There is no question of the great potential AI has to help humanity make great strides in multiple fields. Among its benefits, new drugs could be discovered by AI to treat various illnesses. AI could likely find cures for cancer and other diseases, extend life to an average of 120, 150, or 200 years. These would be healthy and fruitful years with degenerative conditions, inflammatory illnesses and infectious diseases eliminated. AI could also find ways to wipe out poverty and help men and women attain their intellectual and creative potentials. Machines could function as therapists for people with mental illnesses once they were properly trained.

In fact, in the UK, AI is currently being used to screen people for mental health problems. And insurance companies in the US are also using AI in trials of mental health screening. The UK AI mental health triaging tool has screened over 210,000 patients with a claimed accuracy of 93 percent for the 8 most common mental disorders. Diagnoses included PTSD, depression and anxiety. A different US AI start-up uses voice analysis to determine depression and anxiety. With a lack of enough human therapists to treat patients with mental health disorders, AI screening helps therapists save considerable time. We are merely at the beginning of AI’s abilities and in the future, it is quite possible that AI will be able to provide therapy to patients in conjunction with a human therapist or even alone.