The tremendous potential of AI coupled with valid concerns about interpretability, bias, and misuse make it one of the most important science stories. How society navigates the responsible development of AI will significantly influence the future of scientific discovery.

The impact of AI on society, business, science, and technology seems to be monumental in the upcoming days. The early effects of AI are creating curiosity and serious discussion. Both positive and negative effects are now being considered very seriously by govt. and business entities. Thus, a demand for careful approaches to develop AI technologies is needed.

Hot weather is a major cause of wildfires. 

Covid-19 has changed our life in every way; our behaviour, dynamics, activities, etc.

AI has been a breakthrough that happened in 2023. So much has happened since Open AI announced ChatGPT. In 2022, everyone was talking about Metaverse. One of the most influential companies even jumped to change its name which doesn't make any sense at all. After that, we noticed the hype of the metaverse had silently died. What I still remember was also a lot of media hype on this thing called Web 3.0. Again we have seen no progress. But then of all a sudden open AI made the big bang which I believe pushed the world decades forward. The future is even more exciting but I am nervous about the negative impacts of AI. I am seeing high-precision drones, autonomous helicopters, and many other tiny but extremely accurate drones being rolled out as a killing machine. Academic research is more collaborative and open but military guys sit behind closed doors, take open-access science from academia, and use it for warfare. This is the biggest threat I have ever thought of. I am more disappointed with the military ppl stealing tech discoveries from academia and the open-access industry.  Another is the potential of AI to steal privacy data, identity theft, etc. There are many extremely dangerous applications. I hope we will not go into that trouble. But ppl are already using it for their evil gains.  

Important indicator of climate change are trends in temperature. 2023 smashed the record.

In my opinion, the advancement AI technologies is the greatest scientific news story of the past year. The implementation of large language models and other AI technologies stands to revolutionise many industries, while also raising the risk of wide-spread job losses as AI replaces roles once completed by humans. Without proper regulation or planning, this shift may lead to further exacerbation in income inequality as corporations improve productivity and profits whilst reducing employment costs. 

The rate of climate change increased between 2011-2020.  The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) made a report, “the Global Climate 2011-2020: A Decade of Acceleration” emphasizing the need for much more ambitious climate action to try to limit global temperature rise. Are we truly interested in those actions? What has been done? Are we really taking care of the planet for future generations?

Many researchers reflect an awareness of the significant advancements and implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the scientific realm during 2023.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of science and technology, AI has emerged as a transformative force, contributing to groundbreaking discoveries and advancements across various disciplines. From drug discovery to climate modeling, AI has demonstrated its capacity to accelerate research and unravel complex scientific problems that were once considered insurmountable. The ability of AI algorithms to analyze massive datasets, identify patterns, and generate insights at speeds beyond human capability has ushered in a new era of scientific discovery.

However, the recognition of these achievements is tempered by a growing awareness of the ethical and societal implications associated with the widespread adoption of AI. Experts are increasingly emphasizing the need for caution in the development and deployment of AI technologies. Concerns range from issues related to bias in algorithms to potential job displacement and questions about accountability and transparency. The acknowledgment of these challenges highlights the importance of a thoughtful and ethical approach to AI, ensuring that the benefits of technological progress are balanced with responsible and sustainable practices.

Considering the damage the COVID-19 pandemic has had across almost all facets of human life, knowing what’s next about this pandemic is not only important but a must. Knowing how to go along with the pandemic in 2023 and beyond is something that all sectors of the society should take interest in.

Global warming is not big news. With the COVID pandemic there was a slight slow down of it, but it was pretty obvious that it would keep on getting worse. As for AI, it is not a 2023 discovery per se. Of course, the more it is public, the more we'll have to face the consequences of it. Being an internal medicine doctor, majored in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, there have been some interesting breakthrough this year, but I would not put them in the "world-changing" cathegory. 
On the other hand, better understanding of the Earth origin and "where do we come from" can spread some light on the whole life forming and evolution.

Climate change affects all mankind. We, as humans, are responsible for what is happening globally.

NASA enters a new era into rare metal (element) extraction

I believw that AI will definitely bring enormous changes that will forever change the course of humanity. 

We transitioned from the pandemic to the endemic phase of the disease.

Artificial intelligence will play a significant role in scientific applications. Still, its use in critical analysis of facts, synthesis, and discovery needs to be highly cautious because of the artificiality of such analysis, discoveries, and synthesis.

The hottest year on record was certainly important news for society, but I don't think it was particularly novel.  I believe the AI story has huge potential for both positive and negative outcomes, and serves as a new call to action.

Feina human cultural achievement Generative AI is he biggest new OFBTHE year, and the century, too.

We need to get a handle on these fires as well as the increase in and severity of the storms that are devastating and killing so many.  It is climate change related.

AI is on the rise and influences everyday's life more and more. We just start to understand the opportunities and risks. This will challenge all aspects of our societies.

this story poses the greatest threat to mankind's future well bring

This topic is an existential threat

 

“COVID-19 is the first truly global crisis we have seen in our lifetimes. No matter where we live, the pandemic affects every one of us. It is a major health emergency and a threat to global public health rarely encountered. 

According to WHO, the pandemic continues to spread at the regional and global levels. As of 11 March 2023, the global cumulative incidence reached 760 061 055 reported cases and 6 886 364 associated deaths at a case-fatality ratio (CFR) of 0.91%. Meanwhile, the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) have reported a total of 23 271 778 cases, representing about 3.06% of the global count, with 349 712 associated deaths (CFR 1.50%). Most countries in the Region are in the community transmission phase. It is creeping back into the new cycle  and the new coronavirus strain, JN.1, has arisen from the most recent variant  before it, named BA 2.86. The latter is itself part of the lineage of the Omicron variant – a more severe strain of COVID-19 that peaked last year.The new variant exhibits a greater genetic divergence from its predecessors, signifying an ongoing evolution of the virus. So that the pandemic continues its global impact and terrorism which makes it as a top and one of the most significant science stories of 2023. 

The role of AI and ML offers exciting opportunities for insights. There is an incredible wealth of knowledge that has been generated across many fields, but the extent of data is too extensive for current analytic techniques. The outcomes from the data are limited by current analytic tools as well as our ability to handle limited quantities of data. When AI/ ML will be coupled with quantum computing, our ability to find deeper insight and understanding will be greatly expanded. 

However, it is clear that racial and social discrepancies are being ingrained into AI and ML programming. Researchers are now beginning to realize that the guardrails that need to be placed are more about our current biases being hidden within AI rather than AI gaining true independence of thought.

It's the most important thing to me!

AI is the future.

This news story brings the power of AI to more people's attention. It has immediate relevance to everyone as to do different work in a more efficient way but still follow the basic ethics. The question is, what is the basic ethics that everyone should follow when using AI for assistance. 

General public is not aware of all the consequences of global warming. This news (fact) needs to be publicized for everybody to understand that we all live on the same planet and that pollution will make it unlivable for humans. People mistakenly think, and often say that we (humans) will destroy the planet which is not true. We will just make it unfriendly and unhealthy for survival.

The impact of global warming is starting to become immense and anxious to learn where it goes, what the underlying mechanisms are, and what can be done.

To me, climate changes no longer belong to the future but are a present reality. This has drastic impolicances in human health and Planet Heart behaviour. Being 2023 the hottest year on record since data set is known, is a prof of evidence of that.

This is a serious concer about humanity

Hopefully to convince politicians that we need to act now!

The potential uses of AI for rapid drug development, 3-D modeling of proteins (and folding), medical diagnosis, etc. are many and impressive.   The call for caution is well stated though, as any AI tool will only be as good as the databases used to create it.   The call for caution needs to include concern about publications with falsified data, the inability to replicate some studies, and the need to be sure that retractions are also removed from AI databases.

When I was a teenager these diseases came in my textbooks as examples of enormous medical and genetic problems. Today, they are absolutely curable. Very expensive for now, but biotechnology has already found the cure. This indicates that it may be the end of many rare diseases as we know them and a historic milestone for a humanity that almost 100 years ago also found antibiotics to survive. There is no doubt that this achievement is the most impactful in our lives.

AI has demonstrated its potential to accelerate scientific discoveries and breakthroughs across various fields, from drug discovery and genomics to climate science and material science. However, as AI becomes more prevalent in scientific research, ethical considerations surrounding data privacy, bias in algorithms, and potential misuse of technology come to the forefront. Experts emphasize the need for responsible AI development and usage.

There is no doubt that this is the most important story of the year. It impacts all that we do. Wish it weren't true.

Wildfires have become a major toxicological disaster. This can be a result of climate change.

Climate change is the issue which is going to affect humanity most severly and should be treated.

This should convince doubters outside of the academic community that climate change is real. 

I hesitate between "hottest year" and "AI" ... both are extremely important to realize what they are capable of ! 

The first news brings attention to a long warning call made by specialists about the global climate change, with catastrophic implications in the coming years.

Quantum computing  --IBM launched a new quantum chip with lowest error rates ever - Dec 2023
Fusion --net positive energy breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore in July 2023

 Artificial intelligence (AI) is now used in many applications. For example in the field of healthcare, AI can provide the following benefits:

1. Ability to analyze data to improve diagnosis 

2. Real-time data  
3. Better patient care 
4. Reduced stress of medical staff  
5.  Health monitoring  

6. Reduced cost of care 

After the Great Influenza epidemic or the Spanish flu that caused significant mortality across the world in 1918,  COVID-19 became the next pandemic which created significant stress on global healthcare and economy. The COVID-19 vaccination was indeed instrumental in controlling the spread of the disease, although some mutant variants appeared in several parts of the world. WHO reported an increase in new cases by 52% by the end of 2023. However, there was a significant reduction in mortality. Thus, COVID-19, which shook the world from 2020-2022, entering a new phase was the most significant science story in my opinion.  

The apparent capture of the FDA and CDC by the pharmaceutical industry. 

AI is impacting so many areas of science at a rapid pace, including toxicology. Staying abreast of recent developments and evaluating their positive and negative implications is crucial.

I believe that the AI spreading misinformation and manipulating humans is the single greatest threat to our collective knowledge.

this is the most consequential (and frightening) story.