Every year, the World Economic Forum asks hundreds of leaders from around the globe to see what they fear most. Not personal fears but ones for the economy, for the people, and for the planet.
Each year we see a lot of similarities and some years we have new worries that creep in. Today the 2022 Global Risks Report was released but prior to that these are the most pressing worries for some of the world’s most powerful people in the world so it's worth us listening in.
For 2021 they were worried about Infectious diseases and obviously a top choice as COVID is a global issue that has just hit an all time high in terms of cases. Pandemic may be the biggest headline for 2022 but if Omicron sends us towards an endemic result and it gets milder and milder we may be able to close the book on this pandemic.
Livelihood crisis. As we are seeing record breaking wealth it's important for Effective Altruists to focus on helping those who are struggling. I don't mean local restaurants but those who survive on less than $5 a day. The world’s poor had a harder time making ends meet in 2021 and we expect the same for 2022 as globally those vaccinated and affording protection against the virus in one way or another is miniscule in comparison to what 1st world countries can do.
Extreme weather events and there will be at least 1 every year for the next 20 years is my prediction. Wildfires, Avalanches, Tsunamis, Hurricanes. It's been happening since the beginning of time and will continue until we can come together and you see how hard that is for the Country none the less the world to do. I'm not a scientist but enjoy nerding out to really learn about a topic and looking at history as Ray Dalio says is one of the best ways to help predict future events with the highest share of accuracy.
Cyber Security whether it's extreme Ransomware cases like we saw in 2021 as the world becomes more virtual the hacks and vulnerbilities will only expand. It's a cat and mouse game and this will never end due to human error. Crypto Scams and Fraudelent payments are here to stay unfortunately.
What are your predictions for 2022 and 2023?
Rich Ruddie
