COVID-19 dropped out of the world's top 10 causes of death in 2023, ranking 14th with 0.9 million deaths, as global life expectancy recovered to near pre-pandemic levels. Revised WHO estimates now show COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in 2021 with 9.4 million deaths, contributing 14.7 million total deaths in 2020-2021. Noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, stroke, and COPD now dominate mortality, accounting for 74% of deaths globally.
The article argues for a middle ground in AI safety discourse, rejecting both claims that AI existential risk is imminent and accusations that such warnings are insincere hype. It acknowledges legitimate concerns about underinvestment in catastrophic risk preparedness while disagreeing with extending these arguments to AI existential risk, proposing instead that AI amplifies existing systemic risks rather than posing unique existential threats.
The world's oceans absorbed a record 23 zettajoules of heat last year, causing sea levels to rise faster and waters to become 17% more acidic over four decades. Marine ecosystems are experiencing widespread damage including coral bleaching, phytoplankton decline, and penguin breeding failures, while Europe faces intensifying heatwaves in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
War365 is a satirical critique of global military spending presented as a subscription software product. It uses dark humor to juxtapose the $2.7 trillion annual global defense budget against alternative investments like education, healthcare, and space exploration, arguing that public resources are committed without democratic consent.