Ep. 209: Ben Cattaneo and Daniel Wagner: Decision-Making in the Poycrisis Era
Jan 29, 2024
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Daniel Wagner, co-author of 'Decision-Making in the Polycrisis Era,' discusses the challenges of overlapping crises in today's global landscape. Topics include AI's potential perils, global challenges like climate migration, combating misinformation, and navigating geopolitical complexity. Insights on redefining decision-making strategies for uncertain times and the urgency of addressing interconnected global risks.
Decision-making must evolve to address multifaceted crises of climate change, societal polarization, and geopolitics.
Understanding the interconnected nature of crises is crucial, including the impact of malignant AI and the need for global cooperation in regulation.
Proactive and collective solutions are essential to combat escalating climate change and its interconnected challenges like migration crises and food insecurity.
Deep dives
Understanding the Polycrisis Era and Decision Making
The podcast episode explores the concept of the Polycrisis Era, encompassing climate change, societal polarization, and geopolitics. Decision making must evolve in this era to address multifaceted crises simultaneously. The co-authors delve into the importance of understanding the term 'Polycrisis,' emphasizing the urgency of adapting to the rapid changes. They stress the need for decision makers to grasp complex global challenges and adjust decision-making processes accordingly.
Challenges and Implications of AI in Decision Making
The discussion highlights the significant impact of AI on decision making, focusing on malignant AI and its potential risks. The episode addresses the challenges of regulating AI, particularly in areas like weaponization and geopolitical competition. It emphasizes the interconnected nature of crises, where advancements in AI pose threats that necessitate global cooperation and proactive strategies.
Addressing Climate Change & Migration in Decision Making
The episode delves into the pressing issues of climate change, reflecting on the impact of COP 28 and the need for substantial global action. It underscores the interconnectedness of climate change with migration crises, water scarcity, and food insecurity. Decision makers are urged to consider long-term implications, as the world faces escalating temperature rises and widespread environmental challenges that demand proactive and collective solutions.
Shift in Decision-Making due to Polycrisis Era
In today's volatile Polycrisis era, decision-making has undergone a significant transformation. The podcast emphasizes the importance of understanding the implications of resource allocation and reliance on external entities for decision-making processes. Decision makers are advised to discern between hiring experts within their organizations and seeking third-party assistance based on the specific decision at hand. Bringing subject matter experts to the table and understanding the limitations of one's own expertise are highlighted as crucial aspects of effective decision-making in areas like AI and cybersecurity.
Challenges and Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, the podcast underscores the lack of preparedness among organizations and governments despite the foreseeable nature of such crises. The discussion delves into the necessity for businesses to proactively plan and allocate resources for potential pandemics, emphasizing that few lessons seem to have been learned thus far. The podcast also touches on geopolitical upheavals, highlighting the unpredictability and rapid pace of global crises, urging decision-makers to adapt and integrate forward-thinking strategies to navigate the evolving Polycrisis landscape.
This episode is a rather special one because it is about a book I have co-written entitled Decision-Making in the Polycrisis Era and I am joined by my co-author Daniel Wagner. We are dealing with a range of overlapping and acute crises – from climate change to geopolitical upheaval and societal polarisation. At the same time, the tools and the mindset to approach decision-making are no longer fit-for-purpose.
Daniel and I discuss the polycrisis era and various aspects of it. We also cover a bit more at the end on decision-making, as we felt it was worth adding to the initial conversation. Daniel has been on the podcast previously. He is an accomplished author, country risk expert, and has recently been in Beijing and Abu Dhabi (the latter for the COP28 climate conference).