• Predictions 2023 – How did I do?

  31/12/2023

  1  Generative artificial intelligence will become significantly disruptive of many sectors this year. Education practices will change quickly as a result of this but education will be but one of many areas of life to be affected.

  Happening all around us (even to people who can’t see it happening around them) – prediction fulfilled.

  2 No progress for those seeking marriage equality in the Church of England. There will be a lot of talk about moving towards some form of official blessings for same-sex couples which would have the effect of thwarting those seeking actual equality, making it more difficult to achieve. Further division amongst pro-gay activists in the Church of England.

  Happening exactly as predicted. The recent developments following the LLF project make equality more even further away – prediction fulfilled.

  3  Indyref 2 will not happen on 19 October 2023 as Nicola Sturgeon had hoped, which is a shame for those seeking to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK as the autumn will be the high water mark for the Indepedence movement. It will be downhill into the next General Election after that.

  Happenning but not quite as I expected. Indryref didn’t happen but Indy polls are indeed riding high. However I didn’t see the mess the SNP would get itself into along the way. Prediction Fulfilled.

  4  Trump and Biden will both declare that they intend to run for the US presidency in 2024 and American politics will continue to be all about Donald Trump.

  Exactly as I said – prediction fulfilled.

  5  Covid recovery remains bumpy, particularly through supply-chain problems due to mismanagement of Covid in China.

  Pretty much as I said – we’ve largely forgotten the supply chain issues that continued from the end of last year into the new year and the spring. Prediction mostly fulfilled.

  6 No conclusive end to the war in Ukraine this year.

  Alas. Prediction fulfilled

  7 Governments in Westminster and Holyrood will announce some kind of “new deal” for the National Heath Service.

  Holyrood here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/programme-government-2023-24/pages/5/

  Westminster: Pay – here https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/14/government-accepts-recommendations-from-nhs-pay-review-bodies/
  Westminster: Medicines here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-deal-to-boost-nations-health-and-save-nhs-14-billion

  Prediction fulfilled.

  8 – UK Government will not succeed in blocking Scottish Gender Recognition Reform.

  I remain surprised that the Scottish Governnent gave up on this. Prediction not fulfilled.

  9  Liam McArthur’s bill in the Scottish Parliamant to allow doctors to participate in the killing of terminally ill patients will fail to receive parliamentary approval but will receive more support than similar proposals have before.

  Bill hasn’t received approval but hasn’t gone to a vote either. Large levels of support in the media. Prediction partially fulfilled.

  10  Changes announced to the UK honours system, perhaps at the time of the Coronation, to remove references to empire. OBE becomes Order of British Excellence.

  Not happened yet. Prediction not fulfilled.

   

  Result – about 7 1/2 out of 10 this year I think. Not bad.

Previous Posts

• Should the churches use more data or less data?

  17/04/2018

  The trouble with data is not what you can do with it – it is what else you can do with it. There are so many interesting things that one might do with data these days which were simply not possible a few years ago. The question is, how many of them should we attempt…

• Should there be missile strikes on Syria?

  13/04/2018

  It has taken me a little while to work out whether or not missile strikes against Syria are justified by the UK at the moment. It seems to me that there are quite a lot of people who don’t seem to need to take their time and know instinctively that military action either should or…

• Easter Sermon

  07/04/2018

  A number of years ago, I was put in charge of the Information and Communications Board of the Scottish Episcopal Church. This meant that I was in charge of trying to formulate the church’s internal news and helping to work out our message to the outside world. I think it was fair to say that…

• Good Friday Preaching – The Servant Girl

  07/04/2018

    The truth is, I only really noticed her on Sunday. I’ve never payed her the blindest bit of attention before. I guess no-one ever did. The servant girl who answered Peter back. She’s a woman in John’s gospel but a servant girl in the version that Matthew and Cedric were watching on Sunday. There’s…