That's for sure.... And speaking of "disease X": St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), 5–8 JUNE 2024

Business programme ... WILL GENERATION Y COPE WITH DISEASE X? (<- English) 06 June

It is impossible to predict with 100% certainty what the threat of a new pandemic will be and which infection will become ‘Disease X’. The scientific community has identified several ‘suspects’, including highly pathogenic influenza, coronaviruses, arboviruses, and several other infections. However, the level of uncertainty is too high to settle on one candidate. Therefore, the main efforts of Russian specialists are directed towards readiness for any new pathogen, forming a proactive and flexible system for detecting and responding to biological threats. This includes digital transformation, genetic technologies, and the creation of technological platforms that should enable rapid development of tests and vaccines against any new infection. ...

(Russian) Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing - Rospotrebnadzor

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Topical Issues of New Biological Infectious Threats Discussed on the Sidelines of SPIEF-24 06.06.2024 *In Russian. Translated quote:

On 6 June, a panel discussion titled 'Will Generation Y Cope with Disease X') was held on the sidelines of SPIEF-24. The event was moderated by the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova. Among the participants are representatives of the Pasteur St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the Vector Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, the Research Institute of Systems Biology and Medicine, the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, as well as invited experts from the WHO, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, and the Skolkovo Foundation. ...

We also talked about the emergence of new types of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, which can spread rapidly, causing significant losses in people's lives and health. The coronavirus pandemic not only arose in the era of digitalization, but also stimulated its rapid development. Future pandemics may develop in the context of artificial intelligence and synthetic biology penetrating all spheres, which will affect their development.

So, not everything is bad. ;)

Neural network training centers consume huge amounts of energy, at least that's what I've heard. And also supercomputers require large amounts of water for cooling. If we imagine that the Power wants a future world with many, many AI centers, data centers, as well as dotted with all sorts of other high-tech wonders that also require a lot of energy and work best at certain temperatures that are lower than normal... It is then a real boon that we have this big problem of climate change, "the world is boiling", and a consequent push to limit energy consumption "to preserve the climate".

If we imagine it. It may not be so.