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As we enter the New Year, therein lies hope that we enter better times. After all, 2023 was a rocky year. Just thinking back on the global conflicts, controversies, and so on is enough to stress anyone out. But as gloomy as things this past year seemed to be, it’s always best to look forward to what the next year can bring. Here are a few of what we hope to see in 2024.

A peaceful end to war.

As Edward Starr so bluntly puts it in his catchy tune, “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” In the last year, our social feeds have been flooded with the horrors of war. Families separated from one another, countless innocent lives lost, heritage sites destroyed, and for what? Why must we continue to see thousands of soldiers sent to their deaths for the self-interests of a few? In 2024, may we find a peaceful end to the wars that ravage our world.

Taking better care of our environment.

We only have one planet, if we continue to destroy its resources for personal gain we doom ourselves to making it uninhabitable. Poaching and the illegal destruction of land can lead us to a world where we no longer see wildlife roaming free. Can you imagine living in a world where tigers, rhinos, gorillas, and elephants, to name a few, have ceased to exist? Or a world where lush green lands and the tall trees of forests have given way to infrastructure that at best only mimics them? May this coming year find us on the better path of taking care of our surroundings, so that generations ahead of us may continue to enjoy the world’s natural wonders as we still do now and those before us have.

Respect for the arts.

2023 saw the sudden rise of artificial intelligence. At first, it proved to be a welcome advancement in technology. Much of the Internet saw delight in using AI filters to reimagine scenarios of their lives. A rise in memes took over, as AI bots created hilarious images based on prompts. But it was only once it took a toll on the creative industry that AI showed its true horrors. With the rise of AI came big companies that started to favor cutting costs by leaning toward machines over humans in the creative field. Writers and artists saw their works shamelessly plagiarized by AI bots, unable to do anything as more prompts were fed into the system. Now there are even AI programs that can be used to create fake propaganda videos, “nudify” people by using tools to remove clothing in photos, and audio manipulation to impersonate anyone’s voice. What started as a novelty has evolved into a menacing tool that can destroy livelihoods. May this coming year see better regulations and policies put in place to keep AI from going beyond limits, moral, ethical, or professional. With hope, people will learn to respect works made by humans rather than readily consuming content made by machines.

Learn to treat yourselves.

Perhaps this last year, we’ve been too hard on ourselves. In this coming year, we hope to see better appreciation of what we truly need, especially in areas we neglect the most, ourselves. Here’s to hoping that the coming year is filled with better opportunities for self-reflection, assessment of what truly matters, and self-care.