Technology-induced risks in history

Abstract

Our perception of risk contains three main aspects: (1) probability of the risk occurring; (2) the extent of possible damage; (3) the degree of voluntary or involuntary exposure to risk. History of risk assessment has been traced in several areas, such as transportation, and has largely focused on insurance. Construction projects constitute one of the oldest areas of technology where accidents continue to occur, while health has always been a fragile commodity. Urbanization has multiplied the risks of illness and death, while natural catastrophes, though still frightening, have ceded their central place to technology-based disasters in the Western perceptions of risk. The human has become the main source of danger to the very survival of the planet. The Enlightenment utopia of scientific progress resulting in social and moral progress of humanity has collided with the awareness of new technology induced risks. Life on Earth began without humans, and it may end without them. Our civilization is the first that faces an end to be brought about by our own technological ingenuity. © 2009 Springer Netherlands.