Caroline Nevejan
Last week we saw that one of the pillars and key values of RI is risk analysis and safety engineering. We also introduced some fundamental concepts to think about risk in a systematic way, like the precautionary principle and TA. Do you still remember the 'Collingridge dilemma' which states that: "in the early phases of technological development, technology can still be changed, but the effects of technology are hard to predict. In the later phases, we see the opposite."
This week we will continue exploring the different dimensions of risk:
- Firstly, (section 4.2) we will look at Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) as a means to objectively compare between the risks and rewards of alternative strategies. We will have a discussion about one important shortcoming of CBA, which is to ask "How can you put a price on priceless things?"
- We'll then (section 4.3) look at various frameworks to systematically analyse risks and incidents.
- After that (section 4.4 )we will continue with a very avanced and - nowadays very popular- approach for risk assessment: Bayesian Networks
- And finally (section 4.5) , self-driving vehicles serves as an interesting case study. We will discuss a number of ethical aspects related to this innovation.
Besides a quiz we will have our first assignment (short paper) about new technology, safety and ethical issues. We will ask you to reflect on these issues.
Please check the deadlines.
Our bonus material for this week is 'Dealing with Cyber-Security', and a long but very interesting reading titled 'Innovation: managing risks, not avoiding it' with lots of interesting case studies and infographics . The latter is a fine example of RI being practiced in the real world. Take a look at your leisure!
Enjoy and take care!