Communicating towards Peace
„You cannot not communicate.“ (Paul Watzlawick)
True words.
The question is whether communication happens in a non-aggressive way or otherwise.
In times of crisis and wars such as these, levelheadedness is often replaced by frustration and aggression. This, in turn, hinders constructive dialogue.
The media in general and social media as well, have an important role in fostering dialogue in the current climate where people tend to suspect fakes and those suspicions are unfortunately – time and again – not unwarranted.
Thus one of the biggest challenges is how to prove authenticity. While different opinions about the same issue do not turn that issue into a fake, accuracy and intellectual property must be ascertainable especially where publications are concerned.
What about Artificial Intelligence, then? AI in itself certainly isn’t something negative. On the contrary, it is a very useful tool – used with care and discernment. In the field of science, for instance, it has huge advantages. Although it will cost jobs – in the media too, it will bring with its progress also new, different job opportunities.
Used for peaceful purposes, Artificial Intelligence can be of high value. Alternatively, it could be a weapon with enormous destructive power. In a way, AI is not unlike nuclear energy: useful to alleviate a severe (energy) crisis, but prone to generating dangerous by-products.
Those advantages and hazards, like so many more issues, need to be communicated and thoroughly discussed.
While verbal and nonverbal aggression and violence only snowball into even more violence, it is necessary to bear in mind that to achieve Peace it takes willingness and active outreach through constructive dialogue!