Bastian Richter

Principled Leadership in a Fractured World: Lessons from Ralph Bunche I recently finished reading Kal Raustiala’s new biography of Ralph Bunche titled “The Absolutely Indispensable Man. Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire.

I recently delved into Prof Kal #Raustiala's excellent biography of Ralph #Bunche. His inspiring life story and legacy in post-colonialism, peacekeeping, and peacemaking in the #UN, and fighting for #civilrights in the US, resonate profoundly even today.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/princi...

(6) Decision-makers will now have to grapple with two questions: #SoWhat? and #WhatNow? More unpacking and contextualizing of these findings is needed, along with a conscious effort to avoid overwhelm and decision fatigue in the face of future prospect that seems daunting and frightening.

(5) Also not explicitly mentioned (though implied under #AI/tech) are the runaway development and deployment of #LethalAutonomousWeapons and networked multidomain warfare which are already today fundamentally reshaping how armed conflict unfolds. These, to me, are among the top risks of the future.

(4) Some global risks are only implied or remain absent: The ongoing #GlobalBacksliding on IHL norms, on human rights, on gender equality, or on the protection of civilians in armed conflict could have warranted explicit mention.

(3) #Mis/disinformation are perceived as the top global risks overall. This is striking and underscores how the information ecosystem has become a globally contested domain in its own right. The UN will be stepping up UN system-wide efforts to address risks in the information space.

(2) #Geopolitical tension is highlighted the most interconnected risk - often directly influencing other risks (such as all-out war, the threat of WMDs, etc.). Central to the geopolitical fragmentation and the erosion of trust between and within states and societies.

The #UN released its first global risk report. An interesting, compact read that offers a good baseline for more detailed #StrategicForesight on factors that shape and disrupt global cooperation. unglobalriskreport.org. A few highlights:

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

For sure, LLMs and other forms of AI hold enormous promise in many fields. I’m all in favor of using tech to weed out BS jobs and help us focus on the essential. Yet somehow it feels we’re headed in the opposite direction.

And their impact isn’t limited to kids and college students. It’s equally profound in the work place. Amid tight budgets and a relentless drive for “efficiency”, knowledge workers may be compelled or forced resort to using LLMs for an ever-increasing proportion of their work.

This essay by @brianklaas.bsky.social is a must-read. The impact of LLMs on critical thinking is like a WMD for the mind.

10 Conflicts to Watch in 2025 | Crisis Group Trump’s return adds unpredictability to an already volatile world. As global tensions rise, change looms, whether through deals or by force of arms.

As we said:

The United States has always given itself and friends a pass from international law where it suited its interests. But even by the patchy standards of recent decades, things are bad and poised to get worse. 

www.crisisgroup.org/global/10-co...

Deutsche Medien verschlafen Musks Coup. Mediales Totalversagen.

Ok it's 2025 so I'm giving Bluesky a shot! I do wonder, though: Is this a good place or is it just like the other one, with all its online vitriol, doomscrolling and toxic echo chambers? If so, adios