When failure is an option: redundancy, reliability and regulation in complex technical systems

This paper argues that redundancy in engineering, should be understood as a 'design paradigm' that frames regulatory assessments and interpretations of all complex technical systems, profoundly shaping decisions and judgements about modern technologies. It will further argue that the 'redundancy paradigm' used by regulators contains epistemic ambiguities that lead to imperfect predictions about the effects of redundancy in practice. By deconstructing the logic of redundancy in relation to aviation regulation, this paper illuminates much wider issues about technology governance.