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December 30, 2022 - 8:51am
In 2022 the pandemic abated, but the omni-crisis rolled on. This was the year that Russia invaded Ukraine, the West was threatened with nuclear war and populism staged a comeback. In the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson fell, Liz Truss imploded and, after seventy years as monarch, Queen Elizabeth II died.
In fact, so much happened that it’s easy to forget the things which might have happened — or were supposed to — but didn’t. These non-events matter, too.
This time last year we were bracing ourselves for the impact of a new Covid variant, but the worst fears of epidemiologists about Omicron were not realised. In the UK, there was no return to lockdown; in the EU, governments that had laid the groundwork for compulsory vaccination stayed their needles. Instead, the frontiers of the biosecurity state were rolled back. Even the Chinese are relenting.
Speaking of China, there was no invasion of Taiwan this year. There were threats from Xi Jinping, but he resisted the temptation to strike while the West’s attention was occupied in Eastern Europe. Then again, it may have been the failure of Putin’s blitzkrieg that persuaded Xi not to launch one of his own. Or, who knows, the Chinese leader may retain a shred of human decency. We can always hope.
Meanwhile, the biggest thing that didn’t happen in the USA this year was a ‘red wave’ in the midterm elections. The Republican flop leaves only uncertainty in its wake. President Biden lives to fight another day, but may yet prove too doddery to run for a second term. The return to office of Donald Trump is less likely than it was before the midterms, but can’t be ruled out. And then there’s Florida, where the rise of Ron DeSantis suggests the red wave may be merely delayed, not cancelled. The fate of America still hangs in the balance.
Away from politics, this has been a great year for non-events in technology. For instance, cryptocurrencies won’t be taking over the world just yet. A sequence of mishaps culminating in the FTX fiasco has comprehensively pricked that bubble. As for social media, Elon Musk is turning Twitter upside down, but tech-wise what he’s doing there isn’t exactly rocket science. Nor is what we’ve seen of the metaverse so far — indeed, the most eye-catching announcement from Meta this year was literally pedestrian.
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SubscribeMr Franklin might not be so happy about ChatGPT when people start using it to write articles for Unherd.
Also I’m not so sure a dull prime minister is such a bad thing. Dull but competent would be ok for me.
Totally agree – a dull year of stable politics would perfectly welcome.
As long as there is at least a vague sense of purpose.
Record high UK taxation including higher business taxes doesn’t sound like competence to me.
Ay, there’s the rub!
Ay, there’s the rub!
Totally agree – a dull year of stable politics would perfectly welcome.
As long as there is at least a vague sense of purpose.
Record high UK taxation including higher business taxes doesn’t sound like competence to me.
Mr Franklin might not be so happy about ChatGPT when people start using it to write articles for Unherd.
Also I’m not so sure a dull prime minister is such a bad thing. Dull but competent would be ok for me.
If you think we should welcome Robot overlords, try reading Harlan Ellison’s ‘I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream’.
How will you know you have a robot overlord?
It will talk like a dalek obv
Ta! I’ll keep a lookout for Hawking making a return.
Ta! I’ll keep a lookout for Hawking making a return.
It will talk like a dalek obv
And then there’s Ray Bradbury’s chilling ‘The Pedestrian’.
https://www.riversidelocalschools.com/Downloads/pedestrian%20short%20story.pdf
How will you know you have a robot overlord?
And then there’s Ray Bradbury’s chilling ‘The Pedestrian’.
https://www.riversidelocalschools.com/Downloads/pedestrian%20short%20story.pdf
If you think we should welcome Robot overlords, try reading Harlan Ellison’s ‘I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream’.
“…the worst fears of epidemiologists about Omicron were not realised.” Who can forget that these epidemiologists were exactly the people that many of us were not listening to. We were listening to the epidemiologists who were being banned and deplatformed and they are the ones who have been proved correct.
Also, the fact that these epidemiologists decided to ignore the evidence and advice of South Africa – who uncovered Omicron and said it was far less lethal – speaks volumes.
“…the worst fears of epidemiologists about Omicron were not realised.” Who can forget that these epidemiologists were exactly the people that many of us were not listening to. We were listening to the epidemiologists who were being banned and deplatformed and they are the ones who have been proved correct.
Also, the fact that these epidemiologists decided to ignore the evidence and advice of South Africa – who uncovered Omicron and said it was far less lethal – speaks volumes.