Sam Olsen on the fragility of modern society

A completely electric speech from Sam Olsen at the launch of The Resilience Imperative last week, in which he highlighted the fragility of modern society, and the fact that even minor disruptions can lead to significant societal breakdown.

Sam walked us through the real-world consequences of grid disruption, citing the situation in Ukraine and recent cyber attacks on Poland's energy infrastructure. Similarly, the impact of an attack on our subsea cables, which have almost certainly been mapped by malign actors, would be devastating. We need to make sure that businesses, communities and individuals have the education, the tools, the means and hopefully the impetus to develop resilience. We can't wait for the government to do it for us.

March 2026