Work automation: should I be worried?

Els economistes fan previsions de cap on portarà l’economia l’automatització del treball, però si d’una cosa podem estar segurs és que la tendència no fa més que guanyar força. Analitzem els canvis que venen i com ens hi podem adaptar per assegurar el nostre futur laboral.

La tecnologia continua avançant a un ritme vertiginós i, com vam aprendre de l’última Revolució Industrial, l’automatització de processos en el món laboral comporta la destrucció de llocs treball. Segons l’estudi de Randstad ‘Flexibility at work, Abrazando el cambio’, a l’Estat espanyol el 52% dels llocs de treball actuals corre el risc d’automatitzar-se, parcialment o totalment, en la pròxima dècada. Però també poden sorgir noves oportunitats pels que saben aprofitar aquesta inevitable metamorfosi ocupacional. 

L’arribada de l’anomenada Quarta Revolució Industrial ens ha d’esperonar a pensar en noves maneres d’aportar valor en el nostre lloc de treball abans que aquesta automatització o intel·ligència artificial assumeixi les nostres tasques. L’efecte final de l’automatització pot ser i ha de ser una cosa molt positiva per la gran majoria de la població. Sobretot si com a societat entenem que, mentre molts treballadors senten com una amenaça real la inseguretat econòmica, també ens permet adaptar-nos a aquesta transició i a la nova realitat tecnològica.

Eficiència i rendibilitat

Transferir les tasques de producció de mans humanes a un conjunt tecnològic optimitza la producció en massa, redueix els costos de producció i l’ús de recursos i, alhora, incrementa la rendibilitat. No només el teixit industrial augmentarà les tasques que destina a l’automatització, sinó que també se’n beneficiaran sectors tecnològics de l’administració, les finances o la logística. 

I això és clau, perquè, quan parlem de pèrdua de llocs de treball, els experts afirmen que són les tasques, i no les professions en si mateixes, les que la tecnologia està automatitzant. És a dir, aquestes tecnologies no tenen per què substituir a les persones, però sí a les tasques que són menys valorades o que requereixen menys habilitats, competències o coneixements professionals.

Educació i formació continuada

La importància d’adquirir competències digitals és, òbviament, una necessitat que no podem desestimar si ens hem d’adaptar a aquest nou escenari laboral dominat per les noves tecnologies, però no podem oblidar que això implica una formació continuada i en constant actualització.

Una de les coses que hem après arran de la pandèmia de la Covid-19 és la importància de moltes professions de serveis essencials, sanitàries o de l’àmbit de l’educació, on el factor humà no és fàcilment substituïble per la tecnologia, com tampoc ho són feines que requereixen habilitats com la creativitat o la capacitat de comunicació. Aquests són sectors de l’economia que difícilment es veuran afectats d’una manera significant per l’automatització, almenys en un futur pròxim. 

Resta per veure com la tecnologia, la intel·ligència artificial i l’automatització transformen l’economia en general, i, sobretot, com serà el procés d’adaptació de les generacions que no han nascut en un món digital. Però el que és segur és que l’automatització de processos i tasques que, fins fa ben poc, semblava inversemblant que no les poguéssim fer els humans, no només ja ha arribat, sinó que es quedarà per formar part del nostre dia a dia.

11Onze s’està convertint en un fenomen com a primera comunitat fintech de Catalunya. Ara, llança la primera versió d’El Canut, la super app d’11Onze, per a Android i Apple. Des d’El Canut es pot obrir el primer compte universal al territori català.

Online scams are a common problem affecting many people who use the Internet. Scammers use sophisticated techniques to trick victims out of money or personal information. Joan Benedicto, 11Onze agent, details what they are and how to avoid the most common scams in the cyber world.

The convenience, speed, low prices and numerous options available have led to an exponential increase in online shopping and transactions year after year. However, e-commerce also increases the likelihood of falling victim to digital scams.

To protect ourselves against these scams, it is important to refrain from sharing personal or financial information online that is not strictly necessary, or when we do, not to click on suspicious links and to verify the authenticity of the website before providing personal or financial information.

Phishing and online shopping

First and foremost, you should avoid connecting to the internet through a Wi-Fi network that is open to the public. Cafés, hotels or other premises with Wi-Fi connections available without a password are more vulnerable than password-protected networks. As Benedicto explains, “a person with sufficient knowledge could create an open Wi-Fi network and get access to any computer that’s connected to it”.

One of the most common Internet scams is ‘phishing’, which “consists of creating a web page very similar to the one you normally use, to get you to log in and steal certain information,” says the 11Onze agent. It can also be done by using a fake email that looks like it is from a legitimate company, such as a bank, to obtain personal information or access a bank account.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

Christmas is around the corner and expenses are soaring. Despite the high inflation, we will travel, buy gifts, and enjoy the meals and celebrations that are part of the consumer habits of this festive season. According to an OCU survey, the average expenditure per person will be 745 euros.

This is the figure that emerges from the survey of a representative sample of the Spanish population aged between 18 and 74 carried out by the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU). Specifically, of the 745 euros on average that we will spend this Christmas, 396 will be spent on gifts, around 190 on meals and celebrations, 70 on lottery tickets, and the rest on parties and travel.

Although the economic outlook remains worrying, 62% of those surveyed expect to spend a similar amount of money as in other years, while 21% say they will increase spending in 2022 and 17% say they will reduce it.

Nine out of ten respondents plan to get together with family or friends, as is tradition, while half will also take part in a work Christmas party and almost 40% will go to a nightclub to round off the evening after dinner.

Spending more than we had planned

Beyond participating in typical activities such as going to see the Three Wise Men parade, shopping at the Christmas markets or enjoying the city lights, 27% are planning to take a trip to avoid the stress of the festive season or enjoy it from a different perspective.

With regard to where we will buy gifts, the survey confirms the trend towards a preference for online shopping, 36% of respondents, compared to 30% who prefer to shop in physical shops, while the rest will combine both channels in equal measure. However, more than half of those surveyed say they always spend more than they had planned, and over one third feel stressed about shopping and gift-giving.

If you want to discover the best option to protect your savings and give a present that will maintain its value overtime, enter Preciosos 11Onze. We will help you buy at the best price the safe-haven asset par excellence: physical gold.

As the last week of December approaches, the calendar seems to speed up. Between lunches, shopping and year-end closures, the same uncomfortable question reappears once again: am I still on time to reduce my 2025 tax bill?

The answer is that maybe yes. And the surprising part is that one of the most powerful tools is still the great unknown: early repayment of the mortgage. An option that only makes sense for those who still have the right to the tax deduction for the purchase of their main residence at the state level and/or can apply the transitional tax-relief scheme of Catalonia.

A deduction inherited from the past

The state deduction for the purchase of a main residence —both interest and principal repaid— has not generated new rights since 1 January 2013. Only taxpayers who bought before this date, who met the requirements set by the regulations at the time and who had already applied this deduction in previous years, have access to it. Without this last point, you cannot apply the transitional scheme.

In Catalonia the situation is similar, where the regional deduction for investment in a main residence remains, but only under the transitional scheme. Therefore, if you bought your flat or house after 31 December 2012, neither the State nor the Generalitat of Catalonia allow you to apply this deduction.

In many cases the idea has been repeated that “you can deduct up to 1,500 euros per year”, but this is a simplification. In Catalonia, the reference to 9,040 euros corresponds to the limits established for certain deductions within the transitional scheme. The exact applicable amount depends on the specific case and on whether it concerns the state portion, the regional portion, or special cases.

When early repayment makes sense… and when it is useless

The key is as simple as this: if the interest you pay each year already exceeds the deductible limit, repaying principal will not give you any additional tax benefit. Early repayment, in these cases, is invisible to the Tax Agency.

This often happens with older mortgages at 3%, because if you still owe around 120,000 euros, annual interest may range between 2,800 and 3,300 euros. If the deductible limit is lower, you have no margin left. Early repayment adds nothing. 

In Catalonia, if you qualify for the transitional scheme, the regional portion percentages are 7.5% or 15% in cases of disability. But always within the maximum base allowed. In short, early repayment only makes sense if three conditions are met: 

• You have not yet reached the deductible limit (interest + principal repaid).
• You qualify for the transitional scheme, both state and regional.
• Financially, immobilising capital makes sense within your economic profile.

If any of these pieces fail, the tax benefit may be minimal or non-existent.

Arithmetic so we don’t fool ourselves

If you still have margin to deduct, the strategy is clear: you need to put numbers on the table, see what you have really paid during the year and compare it with the limit allowed by the regulations. Only when you have this precise picture can you decide whether early repayment gives you a real tax return… or just the illusion of savings. Therefore, you should do the following:

1. Calculate what you have already paid in interest + principal during the year.
2. Check whether this amount reaches the deductible limit.
3. If you have margin, decide how much you want to repay before 31 December.

And a fundamental point: the deduction never equals the total repaid. The common mistake is to think that every euro allocated to reducing principal is directly transformed into tax savings, but it does not work that way. With the state deduction of 15%, for example, repaying 1,500 euros would only return 225 euros, a modest fraction of the real effort. And in the case of the regional deduction, where percentages are 7.5% or 15% depending on the case, the return is even smaller, reinforcing the idea that the operation is only worthwhile when you truly have margin within the deductible limit.

Catalonia: what you must check, without exception

Before making any move, make sure you clearly understand whether you really fit within the transitional scheme and what limits the regulations set for your case. Only by reviewing dates, requirements and taxable bases in detail will you avoid mistakes that can turn a good fiscal intention into a useless operation. Only then will you know whether early repayment really works in your favour. Therefore, before making any move, make sure that:

• The main residence was purchased before 1 January 2013.
• You can apply the state transitional scheme and, if applicable, the regional portion of Catalonia (7.5% or 15%).
• You do not exceed the limits established for income and taxable base (in some cases, a maximum of 30,000 euros after minimums).
• Your mortgage and its conditions comply with the required regulations.
• Repayment does not leave you without liquidity or reduce your flexibility in the face of unforeseen events.

Remember that the deduction only applies to amounts actually paid during the year —neither future commitments nor agreed-upon but unpaid repayments.

A tax decision or a life decision?

Early repayment can be appropriate if you are just short of a small amount to reach the deductible limit, and only in these cases is where the tax benefit exists and compensates. But if the mortgage interest already exceeds the limit, repayment brings no tax benefit. And it may reduce your liquidity, investment capacity and savings cushion.

The last week of the year is a good time to ground yourself in the reality of the numbers: compare interest + accumulated repayment with the real deductible limit. And only then decide whether early repayment fits your situation and Catalan regulations.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

Si et preocupa la qualitat de l’aigua que beu la teva família, probablement carreteges grans quantitats de garrafes o d’ampolles d’aigua mineral que al cap de l’any et costen més de 1.000 euros. Amb un filtre a la teva aixeta pots continuar gaudint d’aigua de qualitat, reduir per 15 la teva despesa, ajudar el planeta i estalviar-te maldecaps i d’esquena.

Estalviar no significa necessàriament privar-se de moltes coses. Sovint significa evitar sobrecostos innecessaris en productes essencials. Per això neix Imprescindibles 11Onze, perquè puguis reduir despeses en productes dels quals no pots prescindir.

El primer d’aquests productes disponibles a la web d’11Onze està relacionat amb l’aigua, el líquid essencial per a la vida. Hem de beure’n dos litres diaris i el més habitual és que acabem comprant un munt d’ampolles o garrafes de plàstic, amb el consegüent impacte mediambiental del plàstic que comporten.

Una família de quatre membres hauria de beure una mitjana de 2.920 litres d’aigua a l’any. Això equival a una despesa mínima de 1.196 euros si comprovem els preus de les ampolles d’1,5 litres més populars als principals supermercats d’Espanya i fem la mitjana. 

En termes mediambientals, aquest consum suposa més de 60 kg de plàstic abocats al planeta i una quantitat de CO₂ similar emès a l’atmosfera durant la seva fabricació i transport.

Més de mil euros d’estalvi

És possible beure aigua de bona qualitat, amb bon sabor, estalviar i ajudar a preservar el planeta? La resposta és sí. Tan senzill com substituir el consum d’aigua envasada per aigua filtrada. El filtre Tappwater, que està fet en un 70 % de closca de coco, captura fins a 100 substàncies que podem trobar a l’aigua corrent, metalls pesants inclosos.

Pel que fa a l’estalvi econòmic, la senzilla instal·lació d’aquest filtre, que no requereix cap eina, equival a un estalvi de més de 1.100 euros a l’any per a una família de quatre membres. De gairebé 1.200 euros que suposa la compra d’aigua envasada es passa a menys de 90 euros en total. 

El kit amb el filtre i els recanvis necessaris per al consum anual costen 79,99 euros. I a això només s’han de sumar menys de 10 euros de consum d’aigua de l’aixeta, tenint en compte que el preu mitjà a Espanya és d’aproximadament 0,0019 euros per litre i que amb el paquet anual de Tappwater es poden filtrar fins a 4.800 litres.

El planeta també s’estalvia plàstic i CO₂

 Addicionalment, el medi ambient s’estalvia unes 1.947 ampolles de plàstic que no hauràs de carregar fins a casa i 63 kg de CO₂. I també t’assegures que l’aigua està lliure dels microplàstics que poden desprendre els envasos de plàstic quan es degraden per l’escalfor, i que ja s’ha demostrat que arriben al nostre torrent sanguini. 

Tots els productes de Tappwater passen estrictes proves de qualitat abans de ser enviats als clients, i per això ofereixen una garantia d’un any.

Si vols descobrir com beure la millor aigua, estalviar diners i ajudar al planeta, entra a Imprescindibles 11Onze.

Gold’s physical properties give it great versatility in many industrial applications, such as the substantial electronic infrastructure needed to power the fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

Throughout history, gold has been regarded as the quintessential store of value, making it an essential asset for people who want to protect their savings and investors who want to diversify their portfolios when facing economic uncertainty.

But beyond its popularity as a safe-haven asset and its use in the jewellery sector, gold’s physical properties, such as its high electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion, make it ideal for its use in many industrial applications.

From the medicine sector where it is used in prosthetics and implantable medical devices, thanks to the fact that it is non-reactive and non-toxic, to electronics applied to the automotive and aerospace industries, an estimated 300 tonnes of gold a year is used by electronic components and 7% of the world’s gold is found in these types of devices.

AI drives demand for gold

Although demand for gold used in electronics peaked in 2010 at 328 tonnes, falling to 249 tonnes in 2023, the sector has seen a modest recovery in recent quarters and, according to a report by the World Gold Council (WGC), AI applications will bolster demand in the near term.

The adoption of AI is increasing the need for advanced technological devices that use gold. Technology companies are investing large amounts of money in creating new multimodal artificial intelligence models and algorithms that can learn, reason and make decisions autonomously after collecting and analysing data. With the expansion of AI applications in fields such as healthcare, security and finance, this trend is expected to continue.

Although as technologies evolve, some traditional uses of gold may disappear – as we are seeing the production of LED lights without gold-containing components – as companies invest in data centres, chips and specialised sensors, the demand for gold for industrial uses is expected to continue to experience steady growth, cementing it as an indispensable asset in both industry and financial markets.

To discover the best option to protect your savings, enter Preciosos 11Onze. We will help you buy at the best price the safe-haven asset par excellence: physical gold.

Precarity is not an accident of the system — it is its new structure. It connects us all through uncertainty, dependence, and debt. And only by understanding this can we break the circle and regain sovereignty over our lives.

Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman captured the essence of our time like few others. What he called liquid modernity is now a tangible reality: everything that was once solid —work, relationships, economic security— has become fragile and fleeting. The worker who could plan a life, take out a mortgage, or raise children with some peace of mind has been replaced by an individual juggling temporary jobs, subsidies, and debts. This instability is not only economic: it is emotional, psychological, and civic. A citizen who lives in fear is easier to govern, but also far less free.

Insecurity as a Tool of Control

Crises —financial, health, energy, climate— have become constant. Uncertainty is no longer an exception but a structural condition. Each new wave of difficulties justifies another “temporary” package of measures that, over time, become permanent. Meanwhile, the population grows accustomed to living on the edge: wages that fail to cover the cost of living, inflation that erodes savings, rents that consume salaries, and ever-rising taxes that suffocate the middle classes.

This widespread precarity breeds dependence. Governments manage it through subsidies and one-off aids, while banks and major corporations offer easy credit to sustain consumption. It’s a vicious circle that turns social rights into favours and the worker into a perpetual debtor. The fear of losing one’s income or home becomes a powerful instrument of submission.

The result is a society obsessed with the next economic rebound or inflation index, confusing mere survival with progress. As Bauman warned, “freedom without security is a sentence, but security without freedom is an invisible prison.”

From Stable Work to Fragile Work

In just a few years, the concept of employment has changed radically. Flexibility —a seemingly positive word— has become synonymous with temporariness, outsourcing, and insecurity. Short-term contracts and part-time jobs have become the norm to the point that they no longer surprise anyone. Meanwhile, a permanent contract or a 40-hour week seems almost a privilege.

According to Spain’s INE, over 25% of young workers hold temporary contracts. In Catalonia, the real average salary has lost more than 7% of its purchasing power in the past five years, while housing costs have risen by 30%.  The gap between wages and prices is now structural: having a job no longer guarantees a dignified life.

This fragmented labour model creates a permanently available and easily replaceable population. The worker cannot plan for the future or accumulate assets. When work ceases to provide stability and becomes a daily struggle for survival, the social contract breaks down.

Labour precarity is also civic precarity. A citizen without a horizon does not participate, protest, or demand — they simply survive. And that is perhaps the system’s new victory: transforming the worker into an obedient and exhausted consumer.

The Loss of Freedom and the Need for Economic Sovereignty

Economic insecurity silently erodes freedom. When everything depends on the month’s salary or a granted loan, personal autonomy fades away.  We live in societies that appear free, yet are subjected to subtle forms of control: debt, technological dependence, and constant misinformation. 

The challenge is to rebuild sovereignty. At the collective level, this means regaining control over basic resources —energy, housing, finance— and promoting resilient local economies.  At the individual level, it means relearning self-management habits: saving, investing wisely, avoiding unnecessary debt, and embracing financial education as a tool for liberation.

Economic education is the key to transforming fear into power. When we understand how the system works, we no longer submit blindly to it. At 11Onze, we’ve long defended this idea: saving is sovereignty, information is freedom, and community is strength.

The path toward a less precarious society does not depend on waiting for external solutions but on building security from below —through cooperation and awareness. Perhaps Bauman was right: precarity is the new social bond. But there’s still time to turn that bond into a network of solidarity, not submission.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

While the emergence of artificial intelligence may pose a threat to some employment sectors, historically, technologies that automate tasks also create new occupations and disciplines related to the programming and development of these automated systems.

The entry of AI into the workplace follows a similar pattern to previous technological revolutions. On the one hand, the advance of automation is reducing the number of people needed to perform repetitive or routine tasks. Still, on the other, it is creating new jobs that require technical skills related to these new technologies. Let’s have a look at some of the new professions and disciplines being created by this essential pillar of Industry 4.0.

Prompt engineers

The proper functioning of artificial intelligence applications, such as ChatGPT or Bard, when it comes to providing the best answers to a user’s question, depends to a large extent on the precision and context of the instructions. Prompt engineering’ is a discipline focused on training and tuning AI-based language models to ensure that they generate consistent and useful results for the user. Although you don’t have to know how to program, creativity, critical thinking and data analysis are key skills for this profession.

Programmers and Developers

These are specialists in the design, creation, development and implementation of software based on machine learning algorithms and artificial neural networks that are essential to provide the technological basis. Their main objective is to create artificial intelligence systems that can learn and improve automatically from input data.

Natural Language Processing

Experts in this field are essential for teaching chatbots and word processors to understand and generate written and spoken human language. They develop the linguistic model so that computer engineers can implement it in efficient and functional code. While this job does not require a strong technological background, a degree in linguistics, philology or translation is desirable, as well as a specialisation in natural language processing or computational linguistics.

Analytics and data science

Artificial intelligence is a very useful tool for collecting and analysing complex patterns from large databases. Professionals with expertise in analytics and data science are needed to interpret this information to extract useful information to support an organisation’s or company’s decision-making. To do this work, one must know statistics, mathematics and master data analysis tools such as Excel or SQL, along with the ability to communicate the results clearly and effectively.

Algorithm Auditing

This discipline assesses the reliability of the results of systems that use artificial intelligence, as well as their ethical and legal compliance, ensuring that the relevant standards and regulations are applied. Algorithmic audits are an internal review or supervision that is carried out in parallel to the development of the artificial intelligence system and periodically after the product has been launched on the market. People with legal backgrounds and studies in social sciences and ethics are ideal candidates for this type of work.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

Fa més de 3.000 anys, abans de la irrupció de Grècia, la humanitat ja disposava de societats desenvolupades i interconnectades econòmicament. Aquesta mena de globalisme pretèrit va provocar una fallida en cadena quan el canvi climàtic, les migracions i les noves tecnologies van fer caure la primera peça del dòmino.

La globalització no és un invent del segle XXI, ni del XX, ni tan sols del colonialisme i l’imperialisme que tanta sang van vessar. Molt abans la humanitat ja havia teixit una xarxa comercial connectant societats més avançades del que sovint pensem. A l’Edat de Bronze, cap al segon mil·lenni abans de Crist, hi havia diverses civilitzacions ben desenvolupades al voltant del mar Mediterrani. Parlem de l’antiga Babilònia (a l’actual Iraq), la cultura Micènica (a l’actual Grècia, que controlava el comerç amb la península Itàlica), l’imperi Hitita (actual Turquia) i l’Antic Egipte. Aquestes quatre civilitzacions havien establert unes relacions comercials que, més enllà de conflictes puntuals, els permetien el progrés mutu.

Com van col·lapsar?

Aquell món globalitzat i cosmopolita va ser esborrat del mapa en la que és considerada com una de les grans catàstrofes de la humanitat. I tot va començar amb catàstrofes climàtiques: una forta disminució de les pluges (durant tres segles) va deixar molt tocats els centres de producció d’aliments claus de la civilització. El mirall amb l’actualitat és espaordidor si pensem en l’acumulació de males collites i la conseqüent pujada de preus dels aliments bàsics que ja fa anys que escuren les butxaques dels ciutadans del nostre país.

La falta de pluges va provocar la fam i la fam va convertir-se en una migració desesperada i violenta. Ara aquells miserables són coneguts com els Pobles de la Mar, una munió de pobles units per la gana que es movien pel món buscant alguna cosa per menjar i que van arrasar primer Micenes, després l’imperi Hitita i que van trobar el seu mur de contenció amb Egipte. El faraó Ramsès III els va poder aturar a la desembocadura del Nil, però la grandíssima despesa bèl·lica va deixar la seva societat també tocada de mort. Així la pobresa es va estendre per Egipte i Babilònia, sobretot perquè havien perdut els seus dos principals clients i no tenien a qui vendre ni a qui comprar. Aquells imperis moderns i interconnectats van fer fallida i van donar lloc a petites ciutats-estat autàrquiques, tancades en si mateixes, mirant només de sobreviure. És el que es coneix com l’Època Fosca, que es va allargar fins a l’aparició de les polis gregues.

Repetirem la història?

Les societats i les economies modernes estan més connectades que mai, d’una manera que no és comparable a l’Edat de Bronze. Si al Japó hi ha un sotrac econòmic, la fiblada arriba tot el món en un devastador efecte papallona. Així mateix, però, hi ha més mecanismes i recursos dels que hi ha hagut en cap altre moment de la història per tal d’evitar que la catàstrofe sigui tràgica.

La primera clau, com ens ensenya la història, és la producció d’aliments. Garantir un nivell mínim de benestar al gruix de la població mundial és essencial per a la supervivència mútua. Ara bé, hi ha elements difícils de controlar. La natura, el canvi climàtic, les pors i desconfiances que generen conflictes de tota mena… el món és un polvorí sempre a punt per explotar. La qüestió és si la humanitat serà hàbil per mullar la metxa.

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Extreme weather events pose the greatest risk to humanity over the next decade, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Risks 2024 Report. Still, misinformation and economic uncertainty are the main concerns in the short term.

The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks report analyses the main challenges facing the world two and ten years ahead. It also examines possible partnerships and different approaches to address these global risks.

While preparing the 2024 report, 1,490 experts from academia, business, government, the international community and civil society were surveyed. To complement this data, the Executive Opinion Survey (EOS) of 11,000 business leaders in 113 economies has been added to identify the risks that pose the most serious threat to each country.

A total of 34 global risks are analysed, including technological and economic factors, as well as social and geopolitical risks. A global risk is defined as the possibility of an event or condition occurring that would adversely affect a significant proportion of the world’s GDP, population or natural resources.

Main global risks linked to climate change

Changes related to the climate emergency, such as extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity, collapse of ecosystems or scarcity of natural resources, represent the greatest threat to humanity in the next ten years.

Two-thirds of respondents are concerned about extreme weather events over the next decade, a factor that also ranks second in terms of risk over the next two years. In this case, 5 of the top 10 global risks are related to the environment and climate change.

Among the heads of civil society organisations, Kirsten Schuijt, Director General of WWF International, warned that “unless we take urgent action, the threat will only intensify and bring us closer to inflicting irreversible damage on society and ecosystems”. Indeed, studies show that potentially irreversible changes to the planet could occur by the 2030s if temperatures continue to rise.

Increased risk of disinformation and social polarisation 

Disinformation, including that generated by artificial intelligence, and social and political polarisation are second and third in the ranking of concerns. Polarised societies are more likely to rely on information (true or false) that confirms their biases. In the short term, disinformation may affect 4 billion people who will vote in 60 countries in 2024. 

The report warns that governments will increasingly be in a position to determine which narrative is considered “the truth”, which could allow political parties to monopolise public discourse and suppress dissenting voices. Disinformation is therefore expected to continue to be used by domestic and foreign actors to widen socio-political divisions.

In this context, social polarisation emerges as one of the main risks that are interconnected with economic recession and lack of opportunities. Moreover, geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts are severely affecting the livelihoods of millions of people, and increase the possibility of war with global consequences.

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