Can this year possibly be almost over already? Half of me says, “Finally!” and half of me says, “Are you kidding me? No, too soon!” But no matter how I feel at a certain moment, time waits for no one. And soon the future will be upon us.

I did a little research on things that are on the horizon. Based on various sources, I’ve seen things predicted for 2023 such as:

90% of the global population will have a supercomputer in their pocket.
This is amazing when we consider the magnitude of information now available. Having access to facts and people, anywhere and anytime, benefits everyone.

World population forecasted to reach 7,991,396,000.
Can we continue to feed everyone? This should be a top priority for every government. Nourishment is key for healthy bodies and minds.

World sales of electric vehicles reaches 8,546,000.
And I would expect this to double each year for a while. Watch for the breakthroughs in hydrogen power!

Solar installations in U.S. to double to 4,000,000.
It’s great to see the cost of installation going down rapidly to access this power source.

One of the things that really caught my eye was the release of ChatGPT, a new AI system originally designed to help high schoolers write better essays. Here’s a recent article from Bloomberg.

It’s pretty cool, but also kind of scary. Don’t we want students to learn how to write better essays by actually writing them—by learning the process, doing their own research and adding their flair? But other uses are probably more important.

When my techie friend sent me an intro to ChatGPT, he said, “I have tested out making LinkedIn posts, planning my India trip itinerary, creating email responses, and even creating a small legal document.” I’ll want to see more before I start to rely on AI for writing final pieces, but it does offer a speedy start.

As we enter 2023, keep an open mind and be curious. As my friend Bert likes to say, “The only constant is change.”

Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”
—Stephen Hawking

“Everyone may not be good, but there’s always something good in everyone. Never judge anyone shortly because every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
—Oscar Wilde

“Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself.”
—Mark A. Cooper