The World Today: October & November 2023: Is our future in AI’s hands?

Daniel Drezner introduces his new column and explains how he will address populism, climate change, the global economy and much more through a US lens.

Limiting global heating to 1.5C will not make the world safe. Instead, we should decide on the tipping points we wish to avoid, write Henry Throp and Laurie Laybourn.

The right-wing populist presidential candidate has become a viral phenomenon with his radical proposals, but how he would govern remains a mystery, writes Pablo Touzon.

Cascading risks require international solidarity, especially in an era of increasingly tense climate politics, writes Ruth Townend.

Private sector defence tech firms are necessarily opaque. But too much secrecy puts them dangerously beyond democratic control, writes Yasmin Afina.

In the early 1970s, Chile ran its economy with the cybernetic theories of Stafford Beer. Writer Evgeny Morozov tells Mike Higgins about the project’s enduring legacy.

The president of COP28, the UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber, believes fossil fuel industries must be in key climate talks, but critics remain doubtful, writes Mike Higgins.

Western suspicions and high salaries are encouraging Chinese science talent back home – but Beijing’s isolationism is not helping the cause, writes Yu Jie.

After Opec cut oil production on October 17, 1973, millions were displaced from Afghanistan and Syria, transforming global politics, argues Randall Hansen.

In computing, medicine and other fields, quantum tech holds promise – but major power rivalry threatens progress, write Marion Messmer, James Shires and Armida van Rij.

AI-generated fake videos, ‘rumour bombs’ and ‘disinfo’ threaten key votes in America, India and beyond, writes Helen Fitzwilliam.

‘How Migration Really Works’ brings facts to a polarized discussion, but it works best engaging with the arguments behind the myths, writes Jacqueline Broadhead.

Patrick Schröder discovers how climate change and tourism are affecting remote parts of China and how Buddhist monks are rising to the challenge.

‘Underground Empire’ argues that because America installed the plumbing of the world’s financial system, it must show restraint – that is unlikely, writes Neil Shearing.

An extract from the graphic non-fiction satire, ‘Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think!’

From terrorist bombs to surprise appearances, the gatherings of the major political parties in autumn each year are rarely without incident.