Inflation, cyber attacks and climate change and war are the global risks of the world. This illustrates research from the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF named the risk of inflation, trade wars, social unrest, geoeconomic conflicts and nuclear war in its global risks 2023 report released Wednesday. The world has not seen so many risks in decades.
Add to this low economic growth, indebtedness, deglobalization, the almost unlimited development of potentially dangerous technologies, and the consequences of climate change.
risk ranking
As every year, the DEF asked more than 1,200 experts and leaders from politics and business to rank what they saw as the biggest risk. Many will attend the traditional DEF annual meeting in Davos from 16 January. Headquartered in Cologne, near Geneva, the DEF seeks to “improve the world situation,” according to its charter.
Over the next two years, respondents see rising costs of living as the most pressing concern, followed by extreme weather events, wars and conflicts, failure to mitigate climate change, and the fragmentation of society.
In the long term of more than ten years, failure to take climate protection and adaptation measures, storm disasters and the collapse of ecosystems are in the top four places. This is followed by the risk of involuntary migration. Risk of terrorist attack Ranked #32 Respondents consider the risk of cyber attacks to be high in both the short and long term (8th).
AI can reduce or increase risks
“Together, these risks create a unique, uncertain and turbulent decade,” the report says. Advances in the applications of artificial intelligence and high-performance computers (quantum computing) can help reduce some risks, for example in the healthcare industry. But for many developments there is no legal framework for implementation. For example, they can become a risk themselves in military operations.
The report doesn’t mention it, but one example would be so-called killer robots: machines that, once programmed, use artificial intelligence to select and fire at war targets without human intervention. For years, countries like the USA, Russia, and others working on such developments have barred international guidelines from using such technologies. (SDA/what)