A Swiss Re report says conditions for a new generation of systemic crises are taking shape as risks becoming more interconnected across industries.

Stronger interdependencies between financial, digital, natural and socio-economic systems are creating new channels for shocks to transmit and amplify, according to the joint report with the London School of Economics. 

The report cites artificial intelligence as an example where risk has broadened beyond the technology sector. 

A large set of non-tech companies, such as retailers and airlines, that did not disclose AI risk in 2019 were disclosing it by 2026 because the technology has become more widely embedded in their operations, customer behaviour and regulatory environment. 

“AI risk has evolved from a concern largely confined to the tech sector into a cross-sector risk amplifier, with implications extending across multiple industries,” the report said. 

Supply chains are another key point of connection between risks. Geopolitical tensions, tariffs, climate events, pandemics and cyberattacks can all interact and reinforce one another through supply networks, creating multiple pathways for disruption to spread across companies and sectors. 

Swiss Re believes the severity of the next systemic crisis may depend less on the size of the initial shock than on where it hits and how widely its effects spread. 

“A company may look diversified until you discover that its suppliers, technology providers and customers depend on the same infrastructure,” Swiss Re Corporate Solutions CEO Ivan Gonzalez said. 

“One disruption can therefore affect more parts of a business than expected. Understanding those dependencies may help companies reduce concentrations, strengthen resilience and decide which risks they can absorb and which they need to transfer.”