Opinion

Back in 1958, a lot of people were delighted when the first US commercial nuclear power plant was built.  No wonder.  The plant offered the promise of reliable, clean, safe, and very inexpensive power.  Well, we all know that didn’t quite live up to expectations.  

It’s become a New Year’s ritual to predict what will happen in the upcoming year.  This is not as simple as it seems to be, and most people who stick their necks out have their heads handed to them.    

Depending on whom you ask, artificial intelligence (AI) is either the greatest thing since sliced white bread or the worst technology ever developed.  Many data support both views, so this question begs to be asked: Can AI and humans co-exist peacefully, or will this turn into a fight to the finish?

News like this would be refreshing at any time.  It’s especially welcome these days, when so much of the news is gloom and doom, and anti-Israel rhetoric has become rampant and fashionable.  

What are the super-wealthy so worried about?  Why are they selling so much stock, buying land, and building bunkers?  Maybe they think the sky is about to fall.  Or maybe they’re afraid of something worse: the economy will crash, a terrible apocalypse is imminent, or the world’s craziness will go completely out of control. 

Think about Asian tigers, and countries like China, Japan, and South Korea come to mind.  Vietnam is not one of them – at least not yet.  But that could change soon enough, as it is expanding ties with economic partners around the world, developing relationships with others, and has implemented economic policies and reforms favorable to business.  Even as we are watching, it is becoming a regional economic power to be reckoned with and flexing its muscles.