What is a characteristic of safety-critical systems?

Safety-critical systems are fundamentally those that can result in severe harm to individuals, the environment, or property if they fail. This characteristic underscores the extreme importance of reliability and safety in their design and operation. Examples include systems used in aviation, medical devices, nuclear power plants, and automotive safety features. The potential consequences of a failure in these systems can range from injury or loss of life to significant environmental damage, making their reliability paramount.

In contrast, the other options reference characteristics that are unrelated to the core purpose of safety-critical systems. Systems used for entertainment, those designed for non-essential tasks, or those focused primarily on data transfer speeds do not inherently carry the same level of risk associated with malfunction, which is why they do not qualify as safety-critical. The emphasis on the potential for severe consequences is what distinctly defines safety-critical systems and separates them from other technological applications.