in World News World Economic Forum Says Look Out For ‘Era Of Shock Events’ – Including Cyber Pandemic
By Danielle
The World Economic Forum (WEF) released a report Monday titled, “4 global risks to look out for in the post-pandemic era.”
According to the international organization, one of the global risks is “an era of shock events.”
“Make no mistake – the US-driven post-Cold War era ended a while ago (and realistically America’s 2024 election won’t change this). Enduring global leadership, democratic ideals, globalization and liberal values have all been notably challenged and superpowers are overstretched,” Maha Hosain Aziz, a New York University professor and WEF ‘risk expert,’ wrote.
“This is a global legitimacy crisis as argued in my book and our past crowdsourced research since 2017. This period of muddling through means anything can happen in our post-pandemic era. Look for global risks to be further exacerbated by unexpected, destabilizing shock events,” Hosain Aziz continued.
Hosain Aziz cited a new global extremist group, possibly leveraging AI tools, a cyber pandemic, and climate change as the “three shock events to consider.”
“Perhaps the most concerning line in the article is in reference to intentional cybersecurity attacks,” Steve Bannon’s War Room co-host Natalie Winters noted.
“Look for global risks to be further exacerbated by unexpected, destabilizing shock events,” warned WEF.
Perhaps the most concerning line in the article is in reference to intentional cybersecurity attacks. pic.twitter.com/mVwl6JiOdB
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) August 19, 2024
From the WEF:
Briefly, here are three shock events to consider that may impact global stability:
1. A new global extremist group emerges: with the world distracted with multiple major wars and leadership in decline, this could be an opportunistic time for a new extremist group to make its mark – and maybe not face as many consequences. Perhaps, it will even leverage AI tools to kick off a new phase of terrorism.
2. A cyber pandemic – that is intentional: the massive global IT outage in July was not terrorism, but simply a faulty software update from a cybersecurity firm. Yet, it cost Fortune 500 companies $5.4 billion in damages and shut down flights, banks, hospitals, retailers and other services worldwide. Imagine if a bad actor did this – on purpose and an even grander scale?
3. Climate change claims its first island nation in the post-pandemic era: The COP28 plan to phase out fossil fuels may take decades and it’s unclear if world leaders will follow through. What’s more probable is that in the meantime certain island nations (who emit only 0.3% of global emissions) will keep fighting their cause, whether it is through international law or new climate funds. But, if these islands do succumb to climate change, sinking a lot faster than we expect, how will climate activists and world leaders react?