The unsustainable fragility of the digital, and what to do about it

Luciano Floridi

pp. 259-261

in: David J. Gunkel (ed), Rethinking art and aesthetics in the age of creative machines, Philosophy & Technology 30 (3), 2017.

Abstract

Saturday, 27th of May 2017. An IT meltdown plunged into chaos British Airways’ flights at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. More than 75,000 passengers, including your philosopher, were grounded, during the busy May Bank Holiday weekend. Apparently, the cause was a mere inadvertent cutting of power, followed by an unauthorised and incorrect restoration. It took three days to get back to normal. Discomfort and damage to passengers were incalculable. Costs were significant: £58 million in compensation. The loss of reputation was serious, especially in a highly competitive environment, with limited margins, such as that of airlines. The system crashed again on the 2nd of August, this time only temporarily.