“Greatly blessed is he who is bestowed with wisdom” – Holy Quran.

One would like to be optimistic about the human condition as we start a new year. Our species has made giant leaps in knowledge that far surpass all the previous ages. We know a lot more about ourselves, our planet and indeed the whole universe. Information technology has transformed not only the way we communicate but also the way we think and live.

With the advent of the third decade of the 21st century, humanity is making huge strides in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Man is inventing robotic machines that mimic the human brain itself, literally robots that can increasingly manifest qualities of cognitive thinking that God has bestowed upon us, homo sapiens. This could indeed prove to be one of the most challenging, dangerous and promising of human achievements.

The quantum leaps in knowledge that our human race has made may warrant optimism for our future and survival as the only intelligent species in at least the solar system but this optimism is dampened by the valid perception, I believe, that our growth in knowledge has not been accompanied by a growth in wisdom.

The famous 20th century British philosopher Bertrand Russel claimed, quite rightly in my opinion, that “most people would agree that although our age far surpasses all previous ages in knowledge there has been no correlated increase in wisdom”. Russel argues that, unlike knowledge, wisdom is not quantifiable and cannot be easily defined. However, he sees wisdom as essentially the ability to free ourselves from the tyranny of here and now.

This means that wisdom lies in our ability to transcend the exigencies of time and place and have a long-term vision. Historically, only leaders who possessed such a vision succeeded in building nations. Nelson Mandela was a shining example of this ability to look beyond the tyranny of here and now as he chartered the path of South Africa towards a future free from the ugly legacy of apartheid.

Mahatma Gandhi was also a visionary who helped India liberate itself and rise to nationhood through a culture of peace.

The founders of the United States also possessed a vision they embodied in the constitution that, until now, protects the US from slipping into dictatorship. One would hope, however, the incoming president, Donald Trump, would be wise enough to learn from the history of his own country and listen to the voice of American conscience expressed by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr and Noam Chomsky.

Unless wisdom guides us, we may have fools running the world and robots controlling nuclear facilities- Saadun Suayeh

Turning our attention once again to the tragedy of the Palestinian people unfolding every day before our own eyes, we see a glaring example of lack of wisdom as the shortsighted, bigoted and war-bent leaders presiding over Israel continue for the second year their crime of genocide, the worst since World War II, unabashed, aided and protected by the US, ever brandishing its veto at the Security Council.

If politicians like Benjamin Netanyahu had an ounce of wisdom, they would stop their mad war, negotiate the release of the hostages and come to terms with the Palestinian reality.

Destruction is not victory. Sowing the seeds of hatred for generations to come would engulf Israel in a sea of troubles and bloodshed and would eventually undermine its own survival and place a heavy burden of history upon the Jewish conscience.

Lack of wisdom in our world does not manifest itself only in wars and conflicts raging in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere but also in the sorrowful conditions of hunger, disease, poverty, inequality, fanaticism, violence, racism and many other ills that plague the human soul. Statistics show over 733 million people go hungry every day all over the world. In some parts of Africa and Asia, there is famine, as in Sudan, for example.

Millions of children die because of malnutrition and other diseases that can be prevented or treated. Ironically, there are enough resources on our planet that can feed the eight billion people who inhabit it. Unfortunately, however, instead of feeding the hungry and improving the living conditions of millions the world over, huge amounts of money are spent instead on arms, fuelling wars and destruction. It is truly shocking that military spending for 2023 was estimated to be over $2.44 trillion.

It is not my aim in this article to paint a pessimistic picture of our world. I just would like to emphasise what enlightened philosophers have preached since Plato dreamt of his Republic, which is simply that our world needs wisdom commensurate with knowledge.

The current century will witness unprecedented progress in science and knowledge but, unless we inculcate wisdom in our curricula and develop science with an epistemology of wisdom, our world will not be a safe place to live in.

We may create robots programed to think, and they may even start to think on our behalf, but, unless wisdom guides us, we may have fools running the world and robots controlling nuclear facilities, ultimately destroying our planet.

May we all resolve in this new year to make the world a little wiser than we found it.

Saadun Suayeh is a former ambassador of Libya to Malta.