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Failing Gracefully

Dr Kevin Fong explores the role that complex technology plays in high-risk systems and what it means for healthcare.

Dr Kevin Fong concludes his exploration of the boundaries between the medical profession and other industries for valuable lessons that might be of use to us all.

In this final episode, Kevin talks to people who have spent their lives investigating what it takes to make high-performance, high-reliability systems work safely when lives are on the line.

Since the days of Project Apollo, people have come to rely more and more heavily upon the digital computer. Whether it is aerospace, the automotive industry, medicine or even the financial sector, technology has become so central to the success of these complex systems, that it has become increasingly more difficult for the human to remain in control when these systems fail. Technology, some argue, is not just replacing us, it is displacing us.

Is this situation inevitable or is there a way to better protect ourselves from the risks that opaque, complex technological systems create?

(Photo: Kevin Fong and Paul Fjeld next to Lunar Module 2)

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27 minutes

Last on

Tue 2 Aug 2016 14:32GMT

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Learn more with The Open University

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  • Mon 1 Aug 2016 21:32GMT
  • Tue 2 Aug 2016 01:32GMT
  • Tue 2 Aug 2016 02:32GMT
  • Tue 2 Aug 2016 03:32GMT
  • Tue 2 Aug 2016 04:32GMT
  • Tue 2 Aug 2016 06:32GMT
  • Tue 2 Aug 2016 14:32GMT

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