What The Future

Risk

In an age of compounding and interconnected crises, the only certainty is more uncertainty. Here’s what brands and policymakers need to know about the risk of business and business of risk.

9 April 2024

Foresight

We live in risky times. Across industries and around the world, brands, businesses and policymakers need to prepare for a variety of compounding and high-stakes hazards, from geopolitical risks to brand risks to economic risks — and the risk of backlash to how they respond to those risks.

Featuring interviews, exclusive polling and analysis, What the Future: Risk dives into the social and commercial ramifications of uncertainty across industries, from black swan events to everyday chance. No matter your business — finance, entertainment, consumer goods, manufacturing, insurance, tech, advertising, policy or somewhere in between — this issue of What the Future has valuable takeaways on how you can ensure that your risks are calculated ones.

This edition also includes free access to the exclusive What the Future: Risk survey data tables. This data highlights people’s views and attitudes about the current and future state of risk across several topics. See the link below to access the full survey results.

For full results, please refer to the annotated questionnaire or the Ipsos What the Future: Risk survey data tables

Letter from the Editor

How political, economic and climate uncertainty will shape the future of risk

Matt Carmichael, What the Future editor, head of the Ipsos Trends & Foresight Lab

Shifts

AI, globalization and social media

Trevor Sudano Principal, Ipsos Strategy3

Interviews & Features

What a new world of polycrisis means for risk Florian Richard, chief risk officer, AXA XL, Americas
Why corporate principles matter in a post-truth era Brand insights from Ipsos’ Jason McGrath
Why our crisis plans need more focus on preparation and resilience Victoria Salinas, associate administrator for resilience, FEMA
How companies should plan around a pivotal global election year Brand insights from Ipsos’ Nick Chiarelli
How brands can take smarter creative risks in a changing world Sam Shepherd, chief creative officer, Uncommon Creative Studio
Why brands need to know their consumers’ values — and their own Brand insights from Ipsos’ Sarah Feldman
What brands should know about the future adrenaline economy Kenneth Carter, Ph. D, author, professor of psychology at Emory University
How understanding consumers’ risk tolerance can drive engagement Brand insights from Ipsos’ Nathan Rosenstein
Future Jobs to Be Done Brand insights from Ipsos’ Sophie Washington