The Digital Society - A Better Future or Worse? (Introduction of Digital Society)

Digital Society, Forthcoming

16 Pages Posted: 17 Jan 2015

See all articles by Dirk Helbing

Dirk Helbing

ETH Zürich - Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (GESS)

Date Written: January 14, 2015

Abstract

Smartphones, tablets, and app stores with almost unlimited possibilities have become symbols of the digital revolution. However, while all this makes our lives more comfortable and interesting, these innovations pave the way for much more fundamental transformations. They concern the way we learn, decide, act and interact. Big Data, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence in the background will create smart homes, smart factories, and smart cities, but not only this: our entire economy and society are likely to change dramatically. What are the opportunities and risks related with this? Are we heading towards digital slavery or freedom? What forces are at work? And how can we use them to create a smarter society? This book is offering a guided tour to a new world, the digital society ahead of us. We can already see the signs of change and entirely new trends...

Keywords: Digital revolution, information society, Leviathan, invisible hand, Big Data

JEL Classification: A00

Suggested Citation

Helbing, Dirk, The Digital Society - A Better Future or Worse? (Introduction of Digital Society) (January 14, 2015). Digital Society, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2549852

Dirk Helbing (Contact Author)

ETH Zürich - Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (GESS) ( email )

ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Clausiusstrasse 50
Zurich, 8092
Switzerland

HOME PAGE: http://www.coss.ethz.ch

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