Addressing AI, Quantum, Human Agency And P(doom) Risk
Addressing AI, Quantum, Human Agency And P(doom) Risk
Publish Date: 2026-07-15 09:00:00
Source Domain: www.forbes.com
Boards and c-suites increasingly recognize that artificial intelligence and quantum computing can no longer be treated as future issues.
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Boards and c-suites increasingly recognize that artificial intelligence and quantum computing can no longer be treated as future issues. Both technologies are reshaping risk, resilience and competitive advantage today. At the same time, debates about “p(doom),” the probability that advanced technologies could create catastrophic outcomes, have moved into mainstream boardroom conversations.
For most organizations, the key question is how best to understand and inventory the ways these technologies can affect critical decisions, business models, talent requirements and risks. Successful organizations are focusing more on governance, resilience and human agency, than on abstract probabilities.
What is p(doom)?
WTW’s Hélène Galy, Jen Daffron and Lucy Stanbrough explain in Beyond p(doom): How Human Agency is Shaping Real-World AI Outcomes that the term is shorthand in contemporary technology discussions for the probability that advanced AI could ultimately cause catastrophic or existential harm. As AI advances and timelines to artificial general intelligence remain debated, p(doom) has become a common reference point across technical, academic, business and policy communities. While the concept can help frame the discussion, the report encourages boards and senior leaders to develop a deeper understanding of how technology-driven risks emerge, spread and affect organizational objectives.
AI is transforming risk
As this space has covered, concern over technology risk has shifted from theory to practice as AI adoption accelerates. Questions of accountability, liability, insurability and governance are critical business issues. Regulatory frameworks are evolving, litigation is emerging and organizations are discovering that AI-related losses exist across multiple areas of responsibility.
Recent analysis by WTW’s Sonal Madhok…
