Return to the Moon
PHOTO LAURENT EMMANUEL, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
It is in 2024 that humans must return to the Moon, thanks to the Artemis II mission.
It is in 2024 that humans will return to the Moon and I admit I am already feverish. We are never safe from a postponement, but the Artemis II mission is scheduled for November 2024. It will send four astronauts – including Canadian Jeremy Hansen – to orbit our good old satellite. The Orion rocket they will board will propel them further into the Solar System than any human being has ever ventured. And with today’s means of communication, expect to experience them almost as if you were there. This stage marks the return of major manned missions, which should one day culminate in a trip to Mars.
Philippe Mercury, The Press
Even more innovation
PHOTO STEPHANIE LECOCQ, REUTERS ARCHIVES
“Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the innovation process tenfold,” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently predicted.
“Dream better,” Daniel Bélanger has been singing for years. For 2024, we could innovate better. And more. For what ? “Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the innovation process tenfold,” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently predicted. We have expressed at length our fears regarding the development of AI. This is both wise and prudent. But let’s not forget that it can also “accelerate science” (I quote Yoshua Bengio here) in the right way! Could it not, for example, “fight antibiotic resistance”, make it possible to offer personalized tutoring to all students and make access to medical information simpler for all health professionals? All this is – notably – mentioned by Bill Gates. In short, there is optimism in the air. But to paraphrase Daniel Bélanger once again, AI must also be better regulated as quickly as possible!
Alexandre Sirois, The Press
An electoral victory for Joe Biden
PHOTO EVAN VUCCI, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Let’s hope for a victory for Joe Biden on November 5, 2024, otherwise the next four years risk being long and worrying, writes Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot.
The US presidential election is the most anticipated political event in 2024. Currently, we are heading towards a rematch between Democrat Joe Biden (81) and Republican Donald Trump (77). One of the candidates is a respectable man, leads a country with an unemployment rate of 3.7% and has a vision for tackling climate change. The other has a toxic temperament, delights the far right, speaks like an authoritarian leader and faces four criminal trials. In a healthy democracy, such an electoral duel would not even be close. But Joe Biden and Donald Trump are neck and neck in the polls, which says a lot about the state of American democracy. Let’s hope for a victory for Joe Biden on November 5, 2024, otherwise the next four years risk being long and worrying.
Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot, The Press
Break the loneliness
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Artist and scenographer Es Devlin predicts for 2024 “increasing resistance to structures that impose solitude”.
I really like the artist and set designer Es Devlin (she designed the U2 sphere in Las Vegas). She is a true visionary. In the New York Times, she predicts for 2024 “increasing resistance to structures that impose solitude”. I like this idea. Since reporting on loneliness in England in 2023, I’ve become even more sensitive to anything to do with social isolation, and architecture can do a lot to break that isolation and create a sense of community. It is time that we integrate this idea when we design our cities, our public places and our residential buildings.
Nathalie Collard, The Press