Risk assessments of sociotechnical systems identify hazards that can result in human, material, or environmental losses, the likelihood of such hazardous events, and their consequences. Traditional methods typically rely on reliability-based techniques to anticipate accidents before they happen. However, these approaches cannot address social and organizational factors, the interactions between system components that include feedback loops, an organization's adaptation to a constantly changing environment, and human behaviour.

Moreover, in automated and increasingly AI-driven systems, accidents frequently arise from complex and unexpected interactions between perfectly functioning, reliable components. This course integrates theory and practice to present a systems-theoretical approach to risk assessment.