--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our interconnected world, novel…" description: "\"In our interconnected world, novel technology could empower just one fanatic, or some weirdo with a mindset of those who now design computer viruses, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b79/martin-rees-3002_arise_in-our-interconnected-world-novel-techno_1567152.jpg" --- # In our interconnected world, novel technology could… ![“In our interconnected world, novel technology could empower just one fanatic, or some weirdo with a mindset of those who now design computer viruses, to trigger some kind of disaster. Indeed, catastrophe could arise simply from technical misadventure - error rather than terror.” quote by Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b79/martin-rees-3002_arise_in-our-interconnected-world-novel-techno_1567152.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b79/martin-rees-3002_arise_in-our-interconnected-world-novel-techno_1567152.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b79/martin-rees-3002_arise_in-our-interconnected-world-novel-techno_1567152.jpg) > “In our interconnected world, novel technology could empower just one fanatic, or some weirdo with a mindset of those who now design computer viruses, to trigger some kind of disaster. Indeed, catastrophe could arise simply from technical misadventure - error rather than terror.” [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advanced technology can enable a single individual to cause large‑scale disaster, even without malicious intent. **In simple terms:** One person can cause catastrophe through technical error. Key Takeaway Design safeguards and oversight. Themes technology risk human error ethical responsibility systems design Mood cautious reflective Type warning philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - risk assessment - emergency planning - public education Key Concepts Complex systems unintended consequences security trust Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance innovation with safety? - What oversight mechanisms are most effective? A Different Perspective Technical complexity can outpace governance, leaving gaps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Catastrophe Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe-arise-5891417/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Disaster Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster-catastrophe-5891418/) [Error Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/error-terror-5891419/) [Interconnected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interconnected/) [Just one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-one/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Mindset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindset/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Viruses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viruses/) [Viruses Trigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viruses-trigger-5891416/) [Weirdo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weirdo/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Advances in technology - hugely beneficial though they are - render us vulnerable in new ways. 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I grew up so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-jean-lee/i-feel-like-i-ve-always-been-a-weirdo-i-always-grew-up-with-the-sense/) [Young Jean Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-jean-lee/) > [Are you placing enough interesting, freakish, long shot, weirdo bets?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/are-you-placing-enough-interesting-freakish-long-shot-weirdo-bets/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [What the hell am I doing here?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/what-the-hell-am-i-doing-here/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [If you where this dirty minded, then you must need help. (i need help do you)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lucas/if-you-where-this-dirty-minded-then-you-must-need-help-i-need-help-do/) [Catherine Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lucas/) > [I'm peculiar and a weirdo. That's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-barton/i-m-peculiar-and-a-weirdo-that-s-me/) [Joey Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-barton/) > [I have never owned a computer. I am one of those weirdos. I've never needed a computer. I'm lucky that I have a job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-have-never-owned-a-computer-i-am-one-of-those-weirdos-i-ve-never/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I’ve always been a sort of self-imposed outsider, not a geeky outsider or a snobby outsider but, I just have a natural desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-quin/i-ve-always-been-a-sort-of-self-imposed-outsider-not-a-geeky-outsider/) [Sara Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-quin/) > [I'm an unabashed sports photo fanboy, the kind of weirdo who seeks out the infinitesimal picture credits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-m-an-unabashed-sports-photo-fanboy-the-kind-of-weirdo-who-seeks-out/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [I grew up feeling like a weirdo like many kids do. But I was lucky to find my own home for peculiar children. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-grew-up-feeling-like-a-weirdo-like-many-kids-do-but-i-was-lucky-to/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [Weird itself, even in the dictionary, is just something that is different and unexplainable. A weirdo is someone who follows their heart. Im definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/weird-itself-even-in-the-dictionary-is-just-something-that-is/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [If I’m as normal as I think I am, we’re all a bunch of weirdos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-brainard/if-i-m-as-normal-as-i-think-i-am-we-re-all-a-bunch-of-weirdos/) [Joe Brainard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-brainard/) > [People have given me the freedom and believe in me enough to say if I want to do these things that I will find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-coyne/people-have-given-me-the-freedom-and-believe-in-me-enough-to-say-if-i/) [Wayne Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-coyne/) > [I'm a weirdo and an only child. That comes together to create one-woman shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-seales/i-m-a-weirdo-and-an-only-child-that-comes-together-to-create-one/) [Amanda Seales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-seales/) ## More by Martin Rees > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [When scientists are asked what they are working on, their response is seldom 'Finding the origin of the universe' or 'Seeking to cure cancer.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/when-scientists-are-asked-what-they-are-working-on-their-response-is/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“The Sun contains about a thousand times more mass than Jupiter. If it were cold, gravity would squeeze it a million times denser than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-sun-contains-about-a-thousand-times-more-mass-than-jupiter-if-it/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“We, and the visible universe around us, may exist only because of a difference in the ninth decimal place between the numbers of quarks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/we-and-the-visible-universe-around-us-may-exist-only-because-of-a/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Crucial to science education is hands-on involvement: showing, not just telling; real experiments and field trips and not just 'virtual reality.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/crucial-to-science-education-is-hands-on-involvement-showing-not-just/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [I have no religious belief myself, but I don't think we should fight about it. In particular, I think that we should not rubbish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/i-have-no-religious-belief-myself-but-i-don-t-think-we-should-fight/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“More energy is needed to rise a millimetre above a neutron star's surface than to break completely free of Earth's gravity. A pen dropped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/more-energy-is-needed-to-rise-a-millimetre-above-a-neutron-star-s/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The next humans to walk on the moon may be Chinese. Only China seems to have the resources, the dirigiste government, and the willingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-next-humans-to-walk-on-the-moon-may-be-chinese-only-china-seems/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [If we ever established contact with intelligent life on another world, there would be barriers to communication. First, they would be many light years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/if-we-ever-established-contact-with-intelligent-life-on-another-world/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [There is an ever-widening gap between what science allows and what we should actually do. There are many doors science can open that should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/there-is-an-ever-widening-gap-between-what-science-allows-and-what-we/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [An insect is more complex than a star..and is a far greater challenge to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/an-insect-is-more-complex-than-a-star-and-is-a-far-greater-challenge/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The physicist is like someone who's watching people playing chess and, after watching a few games, he may have worked out what the moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-physicist-is-like-someone-who-s-watching-people-playing-chess-and/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [We are 'nuclear waste' from the fuel that makes stars shine; indeed, each of us contains atoms whose provenance can be traced back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/we-are-nuclear-waste-from-the-fuel-that-makes-stars-shine-indeed-each/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Just as there are many Jews who keep the Friday ritual in their home despite describing themselves as atheists, I am a 'tribal Christian,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/just-as-there-are-many-jews-who-keep-the-friday-ritual-in-their-home/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) [Explore all 143 Martin Rees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) ## More Arise quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/) [Julietta Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julietta-suzuki/) > [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) [Browse all 1,703 Arise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In our interconnected world, novel technology could empower just one fanatic, or some weirdo with a mindset of those who now design computer viruses, to trigger some kind of disaster. 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