Fostering Consensus to Prevent Future Catastrophes

The challenges we face as a global community are diverse, multifaceted, and interrelated. These include political polarization, economic challenges, ecological challenges as well as challenges resulting from demographic shifts and migration. There is a growing awareness that major disasters or “catastrophes” related to these challenges are all a function of how humans interact with their environment, but these are now increasingly predictable and controllable thanks to cutting-edge technologies such as big data and AIAI that are used in disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Moreover, consensus on addressing these challenges should be a priority, not by abandoning our unique beliefs and values, but fostering mutual respect, which can ultimately prevent division and reduce the likelihood of unforeseen catastrophes.