Tomorrow’s demons: a scoping review of the risks associated with emerging technologies

Paul M. Salmon; Brandon J. King; Isaiah Elstak; Scott McLean; Gemma J.M. Read

doi:10.1080/00140139.2024.2416554

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Tomorrow’s demons: a scoping review of the risks associated with emerging technologies

Journal article

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Tomorrow’s demons: a scoping review of the risks associated with emerging technologies

Paul M. Salmon, Brandon J. King, Isaiah Elstak, Scott McLean and Gemma J.M. Read

Ergonomics, Vol.68(9), pp.1491-1507

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2024.2416554

PMID: 39436810

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Abstract

risk

risk assessment

future technologies

emerging technologies

safety

Society faces a growing set of risks from advanced emerging technologies. While there has been discussion on some of these risks, a comprehensive overview does not exist, and it is not clear what methods are suited to identify future risks. This scoping review aimed to synthesise current knowledge regarding the risks associated with emerging technologies. The findings show that a diverse set of technologies and risks have been considered, with ten risk themes identified: risks to human health and wellbeing, sub-standard technology risks, legal and ethical risks, privacy and security risks, socioeconomic impacts, ecological and environmental risks, malicious use risks, geopolitical risks, technological unemployment risks, and existential threats. It is concluded that there is a need to expand the focus of prospective risk assessments to consider the organisational, sociotechnical and societal systems in which emerging technologies will be deployed. The development of a future technology risks classification scheme is also recommended.

Details

Title: Tomorrow’s demons: a scoping review of the risks associated with emerging technologies
Authors: Paul M. Salmon (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
Brandon J. King - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
Isaiah Elstak - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
Scott McLean - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
Gemma J.M. Read - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
Publication details: Ergonomics, Vol.68(9), pp.1491-1507
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2024.2416554
ISSN: 1366-5847
PMID: 39436810
Copyright note: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Grant note: The work was funded by the Defence Science & Technology Group, Australia.
Organisation Unit: Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991066124902621
Output Type: Journal article

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