GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

Context:

There needs to be a focus on solutions that enhance the activities of daily life and the quality of life for the disabled.

Rethinking Rehabilitation Services

• Rehabilitation Awareness and Design: The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies a vast global need for rehabilitation services, reaching 41 billion individuals. Despite a 63% increase in demand from 1990 to 2019, rehabilitation is often overlooked.
• Professional Empowerment: Addressing the continuum between neurology and psychiatry, professionals beyond doctors and nurses are essential. Physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists, and caregivers play crucial roles.
• Multidisciplinary Paradigms: Building awareness that disability can be treated, and in some cases, reversed, is pivotal for individual and societal well-being.

Scientific Advances in Neuropsychiatry

• Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS): Scientific advances in neuropsychiatry offer promising treatment options. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) procedures, such as Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and Functional Magnetic Stimulation (FMS), prove effective for various conditions.
• Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (TES): Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (TES) emerges as a portable and bedside treatment. Its subtypes, including direct current, alternate current, and random noise, show success in improving memory, cognition, mood, behavior, anxiety, tremors, confusion, delirium, and sleep disorders.
• Post-COVID-19 Era Innovations: In the post-COVID-19 era, transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (tA-VNS) gains importance for long COVID-19 symptoms.

Global Collaboration for Disability Inclusion

• United Nations' Call for Inclusion: The United Nations emphasizes disability inclusion as a central aspect of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With one billion people with disabilities worldwide, collaboration among governments, public and private sectors is crucial.
• Vulnerability and Crisis: Persons with disabilities, particularly in developing countries, face exclusion and neglect, especially during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Accessible and Equitable World: Collaboration is essential to create an accessible and equitable world. Governments, public and private sectors must work together to implement innovative solutions that consider the needs of persons with disabilities.

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India must use its good standing with Iran, as well as with Israel, to urge moderation and restraint, lest the West Asian conflagration spreads and sets the Indian Ocean alight.

The Strategic Significance of Navies

• Alfred Mahan's Wisdom: Alfred Mahan's insight underscores the vital role of navies in safeguarding peaceful shipping. Merchant traffic, crucial for national prosperity, relies on secure global sea routes.
• Trade Warfare History: Trade warfare, targeting seaborne commerce, historically impacts adversaries profoundly. The 20th century witnessed Germany's submarine campaign, while the Iran-Iraq conflict featured a "tanker war."
• Choke Points Vulnerability: The Indian Ocean's strategic choke points, including the Malacca Strait, Hormuz Strait, and Bab al Mandab, face threats from state and non-state actors.

The Yemen Crisis and Global Implications

• Proxy Conflict Dynamics: The Yemen civil war, a Saudi-Iran proxy clash, involves multilateral dimensions with regional countries and organizations participating.
• Houthi Attacks and Ideological Objectives: The claimed objective is to pressure Israel amid the Gaza conflict. However, challenges arise in ensuring the rebels can differentiate between "Israeli-linked" vessels and others, risking global economic disruption.
• Global Response and India's Role: India's deployment in the region signals maritime power, emphasizing the need for international cooperation. However, the constraints of jurisdiction and evolving drone warfare tactics pose challenges for maintaining maritime security.

Diplomacy, Security, and India's Role

• Diplomatic Channels: Amid escalating tensions, India's diplomatic ties with Iran and Israel become pivotal. Leveraging these connections, India must advocate for moderation and restraint in the West Asian conflict to prevent broader implications in the Indian Ocean.
• Security Challenges and Countermeasures: Security challenges posed by drone warfare demand innovative countermeasures, including soft-kill techniques and kinetic systems. India, as a maritime power, needs to adapt and contribute to global efforts in ensuring maritime security.
• Preventing Regional Escalation: India's role extends beyond naval presence; it involves proactive diplomacy to prevent the West Asian conflict from engulfing the Indian Ocean.

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Explosion of digital-age technologies is set to revolutionise the future. But global leadership needs to reflect upon the ethics of AI.

Global Concerns on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• GPAI Summit and Modi's Concerns: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) Summit, emphasizing India's role in the AI ecosystem.
• AI Advancements and Global Anxiety: The exponential growth of AI, big data, and robotics raises global apprehensions.
• Global Declarations on Responsible AI: International forums, including the G-20 Summit and the Vatican, advocate for a "Responsible Human-Centric AI."

Ethical Dimensions in the Age of AI

• Pope Francis' New Year Message: Pope Francis highlights AI's impact on justice, harmony, and peace. He poses urgent questions about the ethical consequences, emphasizing the need to preserve human values like inclusion, transparency, and equity.
• Philosophical and Moral Challenges: AI's rapid progress challenges traditional reason and ethical foundations. In the Meta era, ethical interventions are lacking. Leaders stress the importance of addressing AI's implications on humanity's social, legal, philosophical, spiritual, and moral aspects.
• Henry Kissinger's Warning: The gap between AI creators and those considering its broader implications. The book "The Age of AI" underscores the need for ethical contemplation in AI development.

Urgency for "Algorethics" - The Ethics of AI

• Leadership Call for "Algorethics": Leaders like Modi and Pope Francis emphasize "algorethics," urging global leadership to pause and consider the ethical dimensions of AI. The urgency lies in creating ethical frameworks for AI development.
• Meta Era Challenges: The transition to the Meta era lacks the philosophical, moral, and ethical foundations witnessed during past transformative technological advancements. The call for "algorethics" becomes imperative in shaping the AI-driven future.
• Global Reflection on AI Ethics: World leadership needs to address the ethical implications of AI, ensuring a harmonious coexistence with humanity's core values.