Last week, we argued that wars traditionally redefine the global order. The OpEd concluded that violence in/because of conflicts is persistent and manifests in many ways. That contemporary conflict/ war-landscape is more complex, involving proxies; more uncertain because of shifting alliances; and has a high societal impact. Armed conflicts are inspired by meddlesome great powers. We concluded that prolonged military involvement erodes America's national power, and China, with 'its harmonious world', fills the void created by a receding America. That the US defence spending for 'fighting old wars in old ways' has been overtaken by AI and technology proliferation, which have changed the character of war, in yet to be determined ways.

That dehumanisation of war, AI and bioterrorism, spread of autonomous weapons, decline of global institutions, etc, are some other drivers of global instability, realigning countries in transactional regional economic blocks, casting ideology aside. Multilateralism, championed by a resurgent China, is the dominant trend. And increased turbulence and conflict would likely displace the old system, before the new one completely sets in.

This OpEd extends the argument to list other trends that dot the event horizon. Thomas L Friedman of The New York Times, in a recent opinion piece, "Welcome to Our New Era. What Do We Call It?" lists some of these trends. Describing the contemporary world as 'polycene' ('poly' in Greek means 'many'), he posits that no single trend dominates the emerging world order. And a mix of the following trends influences the world today.

First, the basic purpose of the AI revolution is to create a machine that can perform 'polymathic artificial general intelligence (AGI)'. This machine would master knowledge (biology, physics,........

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