ACADEMIC ARTICLE SUMMARY
Futures of Digital Governance
Article Source: Communications of the ACM, Vol. 65, No. 3, pp. 30-32, 2022
Publication Date:
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ARTICLE SUMMARY
Summary:
Digital technologies will cause far-reaching social change on a global scale. Novel methods of governance will be needed to contend with the scope of this transformation.
POLICY RELEVANCE
Policy Relevance:
Universities should lead a global interdisciplinary effort to develop innovative governance methods.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Takeaways:
- Digital technologies are transforming health, transportation, education, government, and media; these technologies can improve our lives and support sustainable development, but raise concerns about human rights and market power.
- Traditional institutions, processes, and rights may be inadequate to address ethical, legal, and social issues raised by digital technologies; innovation is needed in the realm of governance.
- "Governance" refers to all collective regulation of social matters, including self-regulation by civil society, collaboration of private and public actors, and the actions of states.
- Two arguments will help us imagine new forms of governance.
- Path dependency might hinder the development of new governance methods.
- A global effort lead by universities could help overcome path dependency and foster innovation in governance.
- Path dependency might hinder the development of new governance methods.
- The history of Internet governance shows that, usually, familiar governance mechanisms are applied to new problems, and novel governance mechanisms emerge more rarely.
- Key data protection and anti-misinformation regimes follow a traditional top-down model of legislation.
- ICANN, the non-profit organization that coordinates Internet domain names, represents innovation in digital governance.
- Key data protection and anti-misinformation regimes follow a traditional top-down model of legislation.
- Given the scale, scope, and nature of issues arising from advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, ideas for new institutions are needed to avoid path dependencies.
- Philanthropists and the private sector should invest in globally interconnected spaces for interdisciplinary efforts to support innovation in governance.
- Efforts to reduce risks associated with digital technologies should be global and polycentric.
- Interdisciplinary efforts should include computer science, law, economics, political science, and environmental science.
- Efforts to reduce risks associated with digital technologies should be global and polycentric.
- The next generation of policymakers should be trained to understand different disciplines, and universities and other organizations should develop ways to offer them guidance.