The Digital WORLD  We Want ...The virtual transformation is deep, enduring, and dynamic. Digital technologies are the results of easily crossing borders and revolutionizing economies, damn the manner we do coverage. The unrelenting velocity of trade has stuck not simplest authorities, but additionally enterprises and others off-defend. With society at the heart of this speedy transformation, the OECD Forum 2017 panel The Digital World We Want sought to recognize how we could be better coordinated and more proactive to foster inclusive increase and to harness virtual technology to build a world that we now not most effective need, but need.

Destiny is already here…

Smart telephones, social media, and massive facts have transformed the manner we work, learn and organize our lives. Digitalization has enabled new-appearance globalization and powered a much wider technology revolution but we can forget that technology needs to paintings for the best of humans — be its beast of burden — pulling the heavy hundreds. Mobile phones are being used to improve the welfare of decreased-income and excluded groups in growing international locations via the mPesa undertaking, providing thousands and thousands of Kenyans with getting right of entry to primary banking services. Cloud computing is decreasing IT prices for small businesses, permitting marketers from all segments of society to have a shot at enterprise achievement. Governments use social media to reach unique corporations with information similar to their wishes, meaning higher citizen-government communique, and social media is also helping disadvantaged corporations join and co-perform.

 But is it lightly disbursed?

Digital technologies can indeed assist serve the desires of citizens better, via less complicated get right of entry to health care, and monetary services, and getting to know and create new financial possibilities for corporations and people. But access and usage of virtual technologies are not uniform: in 2015, 2 billion people didn’t have a mobile cellphone and 60% of the world populace didn’t have a broadband subscription. And we can forget that the internet additionally allows criminal interest and poses challenges to privacy and security. Some say digitalization can be a risk to make up for the shortcomings of globalization by reducing the divide between those profiting and those feeling left at the back. Achieving this indicates actively tackling virtual divides.

Equipping employees with suitable abilities to deal with structural alternatives resulting from automation and different generation-driven adjustments is necessary to lessen geographical inequality and the divide among generations. While young ladies are simply as a whole lot “digital natives” as young guys, gender gaps stay to be addressed in the use of virtual technologies and involvement in virtual-orientated industries. Innovation in enterprise, health, and agriculture have to attain less-advanced economies, even as poorer and less-educated humans in richer nations need low-priced Internet get admission to and the ability to use it, to unharness the opportunities in this new financial system. Better distribution of the advantages of the virtual transformation will assist rebuild the dwindling consider among governments, the non-public sector, and citizens.



Is there a coverage → technology gap?

Recognition of the distance between generation four. Zero and policy 1.0 are pushing virtual issues better up on coverage agendas. Addressing inclusion is an important facet of last this policy-technology hole. There are plenty of paintings to do in ensuring that the virtual economic system is open to all, fending off domination using a few, and constructing in the safety of customers and marginalized agencies. A more proactive, complete-of-government approach, which includes unions, civil society, and the tech network, can help form the virtual transformation to paintings better for humans and deliver on worldwide movement plans which include the Paris Climate Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Going virtual and leaving no one behind

This session explored why inequalities and gaps exist in the get entry to and use of digital technology and what we can do to bridge them. Public coverage inherently has a key role to play, especially as we try to rebuild trust in our non-public and public institutions. We heard from notion leaders approximately how we will use innovative thinking in policy to maximize the benefits at the same time as minimizing the bad effects of digitalization and creating societies that everybody desires to stay in.

“Educating customers, specifically in developing nations, ought to be a priority to sell the digital empowerment of individuals.”

Going digital and going for better lives?

Faced with the question, “What can governments do to make the digital transformation paintings for human beings”, posed by using scene-setter Andy Wyckoff, OECD Director for Science, Technology, and Innovation, the panelists speedy agreed that the destiny is already right here but that it’s now not dispensed lightly. Gaping gaps are apparent in getting admission to, age, gender, schooling, capabilities, and geography. Countries, in particular in Asia, are taking the worst that digitalization has to provide and people are left liable to the risks of negative privateness and security. These international locations aren't capitalizing on the benefits that increase get right of entry to finance, public offerings, and fitness care for numerous reasons, with lagging guidelines and dangerous on line behavior topping the list.

The Internet and social media may be a democratic possibility but we need to recognize that it’s a powerful tools for manipulation. Educating customers, especially in growing countries, have to be a concern to sell the virtual empowerment of people. We have the equipment to shape this transformation and some nations in Latin America are showing excellent management in demonstrating that the digital revolution is a possibility to give human beings new possibilities and construct destiny societies that are resilient and inclusive.


The power of data

Much dialogue revolved around the power of facts and the question arose of whether or not “facts is the brand new oil”. There turned into an agreement that records have a great deal extra cost than an entity including oil. Data portability could be very crucial to a thriving digital economy but we need to paint at the considered element within the use of statistics with the aid of giving the patron again control. On the relationship with synthetic intelligence (AI), it was noted that we need to pay attention to human intelligence and capabilities as nicely. AI isn't always approximately computers doing matters rather than people; rather, it’s a complementary, partnering courting and we need to help AI improvement to assist it to come to the greatest possibility for mankind, no longer its largest chance.