The World Economic Forum has released its Global Risks 2013. A survey of 1 000 experts in all sectors across the globe, it tries to give a yearly snapshot of what are the biggest threats facing the world's socioeconomic fabric in the coming years.

1. Sci-fi
Catastrophe
The release of the World Economic Forum’s Global
Risks 2013 report provides a sobering and quantified
look at the prospects the world’s socio-economic
system faces with a changing climate. Amidst the
perceived challenges were some that could have come
straight from a science-fiction film, but in the modern
world are true, and probable.

2. Militarisation of Space
The background of hundreds of films during the Cold War,
and a Bond favourite. Spurred-on by Ronald Reagan’s
desire to set up a ‘Star Wars’ missile shield this topic has
since faded. But the proliferation of nation’s sticking
things in space means more and more could knock down
satellites and stick a laser over someone else’s capital.
Cyber Attacks
The big thing in 90s Hollywood, where evil forces
would hack into a country’s weapon systems and
hold them to ransom. Salvation only came when
an unlikely computer geek saved the day and
won the love of the cheerleader.

3. Proliferation of Orbital Debris
We’ve been sticking junk in space for decades,
and some say there are unused nuclear
weapons drifting around too. And with
everybody trying to claim they got a satellite in
space moving around there will be increasingly
hazardous. As will stuff coming back down to
earth, which will hopefully fall in the oceans
and not on your head.
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
and Pandemics
This is a recent hit in Hollywood, and with our over-use
of antibiotics the bacteria are learning to defeat them.
They evolve faster than we can make medicine, so the
spread of a catastrophic pandemic is ever-present.
Progress >

4. Unforeseen Circumstances of
New Life Sciences Technologies
The cloning of Molly the sheep created a whole load of
films about clones. And in general we trust good scientists
not to take too many risks in the lab. But too much
tinkering could irrevocably change humans or other parts
of the living world. Mew.a .
a
I m ean ba
Geomagnetic Storms
Solar Flares, the end of the world. With all the magnetic
equipment in the world going awry nothing will work. Your
twitter won’t show where you are and your flight to London
will end up in Mount Everest. Geography exams will also be
more philosophical in their nature.

5. Unprecedented Geophysical
Destruction
A volcano erupted in Iceland and Europe froze
for a few weeks. And while the rich world can
survive a catastrophe or two, this will change
as catastrophe becomes the norm. Our
resilience will go, insurance companies will
fold, and stocks in tinned tuna will soar.
Massive incident
of data fraud/theft
We’re living in a happy-go-lucky era where people sign
up to all number of websites and share their personal
ity
details. Sneaky people find it quite easy to pinch this
Ident
information and steal your money or impersonate you.
Multiply this by hundreds of millions of people and
nothing works anymore.
IdtinIdty t
e ti en
Iden ty ity

6. Diffusion of Weapons of
Mass Destruction
Balance and order! Film nerds unite!
western intelligence
agencies
vs Scriptwriters club
The suitcase bomb has always been a nightmare for western intelligence agencies, but a dream
for script writers. The nuclear club is serious about stopping other people joining it – hence the
love of North Korea – but developing countries want an equal footing. And more and more
weapons will mean less and less control.
Content by: Sipho Kings
Graphics by: Kenny Leung