Are We Ready For A Technology Catastrophe?

When encountering the term “catastrophic risk”, most people will think about extreme weather, climate change, earthquakes, and other related concepts involving nature. However, Marsh’s Technology Industry Risk Study 2020 has highlighted a widely underestimated risk that could potentially lead to catastrophic results: the failure of technology to perform.

This risk, according to the report, can have devastating consequences in today’s global and digitally interconnected economy.

According to Tom Quigley, technology industry practice leader for Marsh in the US, when people discuss business interruption due to technology, it is often linked to intentional acts such as hacking.

But sometimes, technology simply does not work as intended, and individuals and businesses fail to perform their business operations.

Another related risk that Quigley identified was the possibility of injury or property damage arising from technological failure. In applications such as autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, the likelihood of real-world damage is very possible.