Be IN AN increasingly complex and inter-connected world, governments around the world will need to proactively collect and analyse 'weak signals and wild cards' emanating from sources ranging from online forums to blogs, so they can 'anticipate and be prepared for a range of possible futures', said Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security S Jayakumar on Monday.

In his address at the second International Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning (Rahs) symposium, he warned that the financial crisis and food and commodity problems the world is currently facing is 'only a glimpse of the complexity.'

This is where Rahs comes in.Such early warning systems are designed to ferret out data about health, financial and other geo-political issues from information sources like newspapers, online forums and blogs. Artificial intelligence then determines what this data means, and more importantly, if the issue is gaining momentum.