The thesis of Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler's novel Fail-Safe likely ties into technology and humans. It seems like the authors are drawing attention to the fact that humans are making massively dangerous weapons that they can't entirely govern.

The catastrophic plot unfolds due to a series of technical glitches, failures, and misunderstandings. Bombers investigate a mysterious aircraft. Soon, the American bombers inadvertently receive an attack code. Russia obstructs their communication lines, so they can't be notified of their mistake. When the president finally manages to contact Colonel Grady, he assumes the president is a Russian plant and ignores him.

The lethal mix of imperfect humans and their vulnerable technology leads to the destruction of Moscow and New York City. Nuclear havoc happens because of humans (political leaders, specifically) and their advanced weapons. The novel appears to be arguing that all of these technological systems and bombs, though designed by humans, can elude human control and wreck havoc on the world. As Betty Black, the wife of General Black, says,

Man has been made into a helpless spectator. The two evil forces he has created—science and state—have combined into one monstrous body.