Risk, innovation, and democracy in the digital economy

Abstract

The study of digital economies and the sociology of risk have, with few exceptions, a relationship of benign mutual neglect despite possible important connections between the two. This paper aims to bridge the gap between these two fields through utilizing Beck's theory of risk society to explore how the digital economy's momentum of innovation is generating risks and limiting the scope of existing democratic decision-making via the power of the digital economy to create social faits accomplis outside of democratic control. Three specific risks emerging from the dynamics of innovation of digital economies are discussed as vignettes to illustrate these developments: the remaking of interpersonal co-presence and solitary life; the growing threats of AI to intensify unemployment and inequality; and the impact on the environment of an 'always on' and 'always upgrading' digital communication ecosystem. With the gap between the potential and the actual use value of the digitalization of the infrastructure of life continuing to grow, this paper argues that a different relationship between digital innovation and private and public spheres needs to be established to protect the effectiveness of contemporary democracy.

Features of Manifestation of Social Risks in the Conditions of Digital Economy

“…D. Curran investigated the diverse risks of digitalization, such as the risks of transformation of interpersonal relationships; of the increased potential AI threats on unemployment and inequality growth or risks generated by the specifics of the digital communication ecosystem itself. The aim of the study was to highlight key hidden links between the dynamics of innovation in the digital economy, on the one hand, and social risks and the scale of democratic decisionmaking, on the other hand (Curran, 2018) [4].…”

Systematization of the Activity Digitalization Risks: Economic, Cultural, Political, and International Aspects

“…The information space allows you to access previously inaccessible cultural values (for example, virtual tours of world museums, access to libraries, video, photo, audio materials of cognitive, educational, aesthetic orientation). Moreover, facilitating and reducing the cost of access to information resources contributes to the free development of the individual [16].…”

Samhället utmanat?

“…I detta samspel finns en dubbelriktad socialisering: det är inte enbart AI som lär sig av och anpassar sig till människan utan människan lär sig av och anpassar sig till AI. Till exempel förväntas i dag många medborgare att vara en del av samhällets digitala struktur och bli digitala medborgare (Curran 2018;Hintz, Dencik & Wahl-Jorgensen 2019). Det innebär att i mötet mellan människa och AI sker en ömsesidig anpassning och lärande med följd att samtals-och interaktionsmönster ändras.…”