Lumen Wirltuti:Warltati 2025 - Flipbook - Page 30
Letters to the Editor
AI issues
One of my main concerns about the future
is artificial intelligence. As AI advances
rapidly, there’s a risk of job displacement
across various industries. Additionally,
issues like algorithmic bias, privacy invasion,
and the potential for autonomous weapons
pose significant threats. Without proper
regulation and ethical guidelines, AI could
have negative consequences that we may
struggle to control. How can we ensure the
responsible development and use of Al?
Are there any potential benefits of Al that
outweigh the risks? What are some ways to
address the issue of job displacement caused
by Al? We need to consider these issues
comprehensively.
Lian Zheng, BA 2022
Winner
Alienation?
The future is bringing us wonderful
advancements and enhancing our living
experiences, something I embrace. We can
now do everything online without leaving
home. But this future is also contributing
to personal alienation. Institutions like our
University provide social outlets through
clubs, social groups, focus groups, and
academic pursuits, enabling us to meet
different people. Its city location facilitates
this, making it easily accessible. This
physicality of Adelaide University anchors
me. Still being in touch with the Earth
Sciences School through the FGC keeps
me in touch academically and socially –
a good antidote for alienation.
Peter Briggs, BSc 1972
I was diagnosed with AuADHD at 60, and
decided to study psychology, as my concern
is the unavailability and cost in obtaining a
diagnosis, therapy and services. Hopefully
in the next four years I will be registered and
able to personally contribute, and increased
government funding will enable greater
diagnosis and treatment.
expense of excluding people or being deified
as the only way forward. We need to care
for our planet so that we can care for
communities and help people to feel
connected to others. We also need to show
concern for those who are less fortunate so
that people are not left behind or feel left
out. Wellbeing for the many not the few.
Wendy Merrington, Grad Dip Psych 2024
John Leydon, BSc (Ma Sc) 1983
Everest mosquitoes
Winner
Imagine mosquitoes on Everest at 8,848
metres high. No snow, just swarming insects
where ice once ruled. Climbers struggle, not
just against thinning air, but against bites
carrying disease. This isn’t science fiction.
It is our future if we don’t act. Climate
change is rewriting nature’s rules, pushing
mosquitoes into the Himalayas, melting
glaciers, and threatening communities. The
world’s highest peaks, once untouchable,
are now victims of our negligence. This
terrifies me. If Everest is no longer safe
from warming, nowhere is. Will we wake up
before it’s too late? Or will we watch as even
the highest places fall?
Tomorrow’s problem
Ajnish Ghimire, BA 1976
Renewable energy
Aldona Boudville, BA 1976
Winner
As a result, global attention and
resources are being diverted from longterm challenges like climate change, which
require urgent and sustained action. The
world’s focus on immediate crises often
overshadows the pressing need for
environmental solutions, leaving future
generations to deal with the consequences
of inaction.
Dr Eden Lau, BDS 1999, D Clin Dent 2006
Multifaceted concerns
I am most excited about renewable energy.
The rapid innovations in solar and wind
power fill me with hope, but I remain
cautious about the infrastructural and policy
challenges ahead. I believe that thoughtful
planning and inclusive strategies are needed
to overcome these hurdles and ensure that
the benefits of a cleaner future are shared
by all.
My concern for the future is multifaceted,
but mainly I am concerned with the rise in
Trumpism, oligarchy, right wing sentiments,
denial of climate change, global rise in
lawlessness, and the increasing possibility
of war.
Min Zheng, student
Winner
Pragmatic steps
Healthcare equity
My main concerns are the impacts of
climate change. Not so much for me, but for
the futures of our child and their children.
This includes the impacts to our lifestyles,
financial issues, politics and community
engagement.
What excites me about the future? Women’s
health. Australia is making great progress to
recognise and address the multitude
of barriers facing women in accessing
healthcare, and in having their voices
heard and their pain recognised. We are
leaving behind the term ‘hysterical’ and all
its negative connotations; and encouraging
clinicians to recognise the vast differences
between women and men’s experiences and
burden of disease. Let’s continue to strive
for equity in healthcare and supporting
clinical research that involves women and
is conducted for women.
A gift
Many things concern me about the future.
I hope for a world at peace, definitely no
war. Artificial intelligence can be a good
thing, or bad, when misused. I’m unsure
about the union of universities – may be
better off keeping their own identities.
Above all else, at my age, each day is a
gift, live it to the full.
What concerns me the most is how strong
personalities in international leadership
are contributing to global instability and
worsening security, leading to political
tensions, conflicts, and power struggles.
I guess it is about maintaining hope,
whilst taking pragmatic steps to manage
the systemic change in the climate, and
how these will impact all our futures.
Dramatic rise
Andrew Tan, B E (Mech) 1991
What excites me and equally scares me is
the increasing diagnosis of neuro-divergent
disorders in Australia. The dramatic rise in
ADHD diagnoses in Australia is 300% in
the last decade, with older Australians 450%.
Statistics show a 41% increase of those
diagnosed with autism since 2018.
Wellbeing
Relationships are central and need to be
valued. Personal interactions are essential
to enhance mental health. My 15-year-old
daughter tells me technology is the future.
Technology does have value but not at the
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Dr Suzette Coat, Senior Clinical Trial
Coordinator, University of Adelaide
Natalie Heriot, B Health Sc (Hons) 2013,
MBA (Health Mgmt) 2024
