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AI Is Swallowing up Electricity

As world leaders push the Green Agenda, the growing elephant in the room is artificial intelligence (AI). Few realize that AI systems require gigantic computer warehouses that consume massive amounts of electricity. According to a recent report, AI demand could strain the United States’ electrical grid in the coming decade (CNBC, August 28, 2024). Data centers in the U.S. alone could consume as much power by 2030 as some industrialized nations’ entire economies. By the end of this decade, these computer warehouses could require up to 400 terawatt hours of electricity—more than the total electricity production of the United Kingdom in 2022. Oracle chairman and cofounder Larry Ellison recently said that he is planning a data center requiring more than a gigawatt of power (CNBC, September 10, 2024)—equivalent to the energy consumption of a medium-sized city. Ellison said he will power this data center by building three small modular nuclear reactors.

AI’s potential to disrupt aging power grids increases vulnerability to risks such as terrorist attacks on computers and their energy sources. Meanwhile, the Bible warns Israelite-descended nations of coming large-scale punishments, including the destruction of their cities, for rejecting God and His laws (Leviticus 26:31–33). As the West becomes more dependent on sophisticated technology, cities may grind to a halt if a rogue actor or adversarial nation succeeds in shutting off their power, leaving normally busy highways suddenly deserted (v. 22). The West appears to be increasingly vulnerable to the fulfillment of many end-time Bible prophecies.

Has Life Expectancy Peaked?

While life-expectancy rates have increased greatly in Western nations since the widespread availability of clean water supplies and sanitation facilities, such advances, along with the miracles of modern medicine, seem to be approaching a limit in their effectiveness at lengthening the human lifespan.

This is the finding of a recent study published in the highly respected journal Nature Aging (Associated Press, October 7, 2024). Researchers concluded, “We are reaching a plateau.” The locations studied were Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland. In the last 30 years, the rate of life expectancy increase in these places has slowed from an additional 2.5 years per decade to 1.5 years per decade today. Researchers noted that although more people reach 100 years of age than we used to see, the percentage of the population reaching that age has remained the same. One researcher commented, “We’re squeezing less and less life out of these life-extending technologies. And the reason is, aging gets in the way.”

It appears that God has put a cap on aging that scientists cannot overcome. Living forever is not a gift God intended humanity to bestow on itself. However, the Bible reveals that God does intend to grant the gift of unending life to those who choose to follow His Son and live according to His way of life (John 3:16).

An Overlooked Factor in National Prosperity

U.S. News and World Report recently published this year’s list ranking nations according to their citizens’ quality of life (CNBC, September 26, 2024). Almost 17,000 people in 89 nations were surveyed from March to May, and researchers examined the following societal factors: affordable living, a good job market, economic stability, a family-friendly society, income equality, political stability, safety, a well-developed public education system, and a well-developed public health system.

When all factors were considered, Denmark earned the rank of the nation with the world’s highest quality of life. The other nations in the top-ten list are Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Finland, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. When this list is examined, what do nearly all these nations have in common? The answer is that nine of the ten are nations that have descended from the ancient tribes of Israel.

The people of these nations are surely no better than those of other nations—but they do possess a unique factor in their favor. Long ago, God unconditionally promised the patriarch Abraham—the ancestor of the Israelite-descended nations—that He would bless his descendants because of his obedience to God (Genesis 22:15–18). Among those blessings has been exposure to a value system that includes many biblical principles. And 3,500 years later, many of those blessings are still evident. Yet, as these nations turn increasingly away from God, they should not expect their blessings to continue (Leviticus 26:14–45).

Dengue Fever in Europe and United States

Today, people are not the only creatures traveling northward and crossing borders—dangerous mosquitos are also coming. Mosquitos carrying diseases formerly seen only in tropical regions are now moving into Europe and the United States (The Telegraph, September 24, 2024). The mild form of dengue fever causes high fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and rash. However, the more severe form causes hemorrhagic fever, or severe internal bleeding—which, without treatment, is fatal in 50 percent of cases.

Last summer, public health officials identified a unique dengue fever outbreak in northern Italy, infecting 25 people. After that, a small outbreak occurred in Los Angeles. One public official noted, “Local dengue cases in L.A. are the canary in the coalmine indicating that this has truly come.” Historically, dengue fever outbreaks in northern nations only occurred when infected people returned from high-risk tropical regions, bringing a dengue infection back with them. That is no longer the case. And not only can mosquitos carry dengue fever—they can also carry yellow fever, Zika, and Chikungunya. Dr. Danny Altmann, Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, warned, “If dengue is being transmitted locally, there’s no reason why the others can’t be.”

Jesus warned that, before His return, pestilences and spreading disease epidemics, symbolized by an ominous rider on a pale horse, would ravage the world—and that “beasts of the earth” would contribute to widespread death at the end of the age (Revelation 6:8). While mosquitos are tiny, seemingly innocuous “beasts,” they can carry a deadly payload.

Growing Power Vacuum in Europe

A reporter recently observed, “The European Union brought peace and prosperity to a troubled region in the decades following World War II. But it may lack energy and become impotent in the decades ahead” (Reuters, September 16, 2024). While nations across the EU struggle and stagnate financially, and the political climate becomes polarized, member nations feel like they are being “bullied” by Russia, China, and even the United States—leading one journalist to lament, “It’s a sad, bad future.”

While Europe’s working-age population is declining, as are those in the U.S. and China, the EU’s relatively stagnant economy since 2015 places it at a great disadvantage to the American and Chinese economies, which that have been growing during the same period. Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and past president of the European Central Bank, recently produced an EU-commissioned report on the economic future of Europe in which he calls for massive reinvestment in the European economy and harmonization of military production across the EU. His recommendations could greatly impact Europe’s future—but will Europe’s leaders follow those recommendations?

Today, Europe appears to be in the doldrums politically and economically, yet Bible prophecies indicate that it will undergo drastic changes in the years ahead. The Bible speaks of the emergence of a powerful political figure called the “beast,” who will lead a group of European nations that will have a great impact on the world (Revelation 13:1–8). This political figure will be backed and influenced by a prominent religious figure (vv. 11–14). Watch for the rise of this force in the years ahead.

Britain’s Leaders Have Failed to Prepare

In several regions of the United Kingdom, the number of vacant desks in schools is growing (Telegraph, September 15, 2024). Although demographers have for decades warned about Britain’s plummeting birth rate, its leaders have chosen to focus on other issues. As birth rates drop, fewer young people seek education and enter the workforce to contribute to the tax base, all while older people are living longer on national pensions. This puts stress on local and national budgets as elected officials struggle to keep pace with increasing social costs that have not been adequately planned for.

Simultaneously, the cost of energy and transportation has increased for decades in the UK. The cost of laying one mile of track for tram lines in Britain is four times that of Germany’s and twice the European average. Electricity costs in the UK are also much higher than those in the rest of Europe—a reality that was foreseen yet ignored. Britain has failed to prepare for future demands. As the Telegraph wrote, “Too often, the slowness of change and distance of danger is a convenient and irresistible excuse for inaction. A country needs leadership, and leadership requires the bravery to confront the inevitable.”

God warns in the book of Proverbs, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18, King James Version). In many societies today, leaders lack vision. They prefer to focus on the joys and benefits of the present and ignore the inevitabilities of the future. However, the consequences of today’s trends and decisions will come whether we want them to or not. Jesus Christ warned that difficult times and His impending return will come at a “day and hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36). That is why He warned us to watch and be ready (vv. 42–44).