Revealed – the highest 10 future dangers

Whereas dangers associated to massive knowledge and synthetic knowledge are on the rise, local weather change continues to be the primary concern for each consultants and the final inhabitants, as revealed within the newest Future Dangers report from AXA and market analysis agency IPSOS.

For the third yr in a row, consultants have voted local weather change as the highest future threat, solely eclipsed by pandemics throughout the brunt of COVID in 2020. AI-related dangers, alternatively, discovered itself within the fourth high spot after not showing within the high 10 in any respect in 2022. It beforehand made the highest 10 future dangers record in 2021 (tenth), 2019, and 2018 (each sixth).

Normal cybersecurity dangers adopted local weather change as the highest future dangers for consultants, one rank larger than its 2021 placement. Developing third is geopolitical instability, a threat extra related now than ever because the wrestle between Israel and Hamas continues. Rounding out the highest 5 are power dangers, which fell one place from the rating final yr.

In the meantime, on the final inhabitants facet, pandemics are nonetheless feared as they ranked second within the high future dangers report. Cybersecurity positioned third for the final populace, whereas social tensions and power dangers rounded out the highest 5. Dangers associated to synthetic intelligence and massive knowledge didn’t crack the highest 10 for the final inhabitants because it acquired beat by pure sources and biodiversity dangers.

Future dangers – what are the regional variations?

From a regional perspective, the AXA report confirmed that there are inconsistencies inside the priorities for various dangers. Whereas local weather change continues to be the highest concern throughout all 4 areas (America, Africa, Europe, and APAC and the Center East), the second highest rating threat differs.

With the battle in Ukraine on one entrance and the battle in Gaza on the opposite, Europe has cited geopolitical instability as its second high future threat. For each America and APAC and the Center East, which noticed a surge in cyberattacks and different illicit actions within the our on-line world, cyber safety dangers ranked quantity two.

AI-related dangers rank the best in each America and APAC and the Center East as properly, the place it reached the third high spot.

Do rising applied sciences current extra points than it does options?

The report additionally polled each consultants and the final inhabitants on whether or not the advantages supplied by rising applied sciences comparable to generative AI outweigh the dangers that include it. In Asia, greater than half (52%) agreed with this sentiment, an outlook that reached its peak in China (57%).

Nonetheless, the area that supported this sentiment essentially the most is Africa, the place 57% agree that technological advances create extra dangers than they resolve. For Europe, solely 46% agreed, whereas 49% polled in America shared the identical concern.

Throughout all areas, each the final inhabitants and consultants agreed, nonetheless, that there must be a break in AI and different disruptive applied sciences, with greater than six in 10 consultants sharing the assumption and 70% of the final inhabitants agreeing as properly.

Social tensions and inequalities will proceed to be extra prevalent sooner or later, the AXA report additionally famous, with three quarters of consultants polled agreeing that they’re changing into extra critical over time. On the identical time, 70% of the final inhabitants feels the identical, with many agreeing that it’ll result in fragmentation in international locations.

A serious focus for AXA regardless of insurance coverage alliance exit

Along with the report, AXA Group deputy CEO Frédéric de Courtois additionally spoke about addressing local weather change as a serious focus for the agency, a press release that comes following the insurer’s exit from the Web Zero Insurance coverage Alliance (NZIA) a couple of months in the past.

“Regardless of what you will have seen on the NZIA, the core of AXA’s local weather technique in 2024 shall be very formidable. On that exact observe, as social gamers – as rational gamers – having an formidable local weather technique for us is essential and a part of our duty.”

Courtois additionally mentioned that AXA’s perspective in direction of local weather change as the highest future threat just isn’t world, and there are corporations who don’t share the identical sentiment.

“This conviction just isn’t shared by all gamers… That is what we see on the bottom. Not everyone agrees in regards to the local weather technique,” Courtois mentioned.

“We really feel that each one dangers deriving from pure disasters might be insured towards. It’s a serious threat,” he mentioned. “We are going to proceed to dedicate a big a part of our capability to insuring pure disasters.”

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