8.18 Digital Assistants
169
engage, while the other would like to avoid the interaction. It is possible, however, to
turn such win-lose situations into win-win situations by compensating the otherwise
losing party. For this, a value exchange system is needed. Then, the interaction can
be made mutually beneficial and attractive.
Finally, the fourth possibility is a win-win situation. Although both parties profit,
one may decide to divide the overall benefit in a fair way. Again, this requires a value
exchange system. In addition, cooperation can be fostered by making people aware
of opportunities they might otherwise miss. In fact, every day we walk past hundreds
of people who share interests with us while we don’t know about it. In this respect,
digital assistants can help us take advantage of opportunities that would otherwise
be missed, thereby unleashing an unimaginable socio-economic potential. If we
had suitable information systems to assist us, we could easily engage with people
of diverse cultural backgrounds and interests in ways that create opportunities and
avoid conflict.
The above-described Social Technologies can now be built. Smartphones are
already becoming digital assistants to manage our lives. They help us to find products,
nice restaurants, travel routes and people with similar interests. They also enable a
real-time translation from one language to another. In future, such digital assistants
will pay more attention to the interactions between people and companies, producing
mutual benefits for all involved. This will play an important role in overcoming
cultural barriers and in minimizing environmental damage, too.
Eventually, Social Technologies will help us to avoid bad interactions, to discover
and take advantage of good opportunities, and to transform potentially negative
interactions into mutually beneficial cooperation. In this way, the “interoperability”
between diverse systems and interests is largely increased, while coordination failures
and conflicts are considerably reduced. I am, therefore, convinced that Social Technologies can produce enormous value, both material and immaterial. Some social
media platforms are now worth billions of dollars. How much more value could
digital assistants and other Social Technologies create?
8.19 Appendix 1: Creating a Trend for the Better
For reputation systems to work well, there are a number of things to consider: (1) the
reputation system must be resistant to manipulation; (2) people shouldn’t be subject
to intimidation or unsubstantiated allegations; (3) to enable individuality, innovation
and exploration, the “global village” shouldn’t be organized like a rural village in
which everyone knows everyone else and nobody wishes to stand out. We will need
a good balance between accountability and anonymity, which ensures the stability
of the social system.
Therefore, people should be able to post ratings or comments either anonymously,
pseudonymously or using their real-world identity. However, posts using real-world
identities might be weighted 10 times higher than pseudonymous ones, and pseudonymous posts might be weighted 10 times higher than anonymous ones. In addition,
169
engage, while the other would like to avoid the interaction. It is possible, however, to
turn such win-lose situations into win-win situations by compensating the otherwise
losing party. For this, a value exchange system is needed. Then, the interaction can
be made mutually beneficial and attractive.
Finally, the fourth possibility is a win-win situation. Although both parties profit,
one may decide to divide the overall benefit in a fair way. Again, this requires a value
exchange system. In addition, cooperation can be fostered by making people aware
of opportunities they might otherwise miss. In fact, every day we walk past hundreds
of people who share interests with us while we don’t know about it. In this respect,
digital assistants can help us take advantage of opportunities that would otherwise
be missed, thereby unleashing an unimaginable socio-economic potential. If we
had suitable information systems to assist us, we could easily engage with people
of diverse cultural backgrounds and interests in ways that create opportunities and
avoid conflict.
The above-described Social Technologies can now be built. Smartphones are
already becoming digital assistants to manage our lives. They help us to find products,
nice restaurants, travel routes and people with similar interests. They also enable a
real-time translation from one language to another. In future, such digital assistants
will pay more attention to the interactions between people and companies, producing
mutual benefits for all involved. This will play an important role in overcoming
cultural barriers and in minimizing environmental damage, too.
Eventually, Social Technologies will help us to avoid bad interactions, to discover
and take advantage of good opportunities, and to transform potentially negative
interactions into mutually beneficial cooperation. In this way, the “interoperability”
between diverse systems and interests is largely increased, while coordination failures
and conflicts are considerably reduced. I am, therefore, convinced that Social Technologies can produce enormous value, both material and immaterial. Some social
media platforms are now worth billions of dollars. How much more value could
digital assistants and other Social Technologies create?
8.19 Appendix 1: Creating a Trend for the Better
For reputation systems to work well, there are a number of things to consider: (1) the
reputation system must be resistant to manipulation; (2) people shouldn’t be subject
to intimidation or unsubstantiated allegations; (3) to enable individuality, innovation
and exploration, the “global village” shouldn’t be organized like a rural village in
which everyone knows everyone else and nobody wishes to stand out. We will need
a good balance between accountability and anonymity, which ensures the stability
of the social system.
Therefore, people should be able to post ratings or comments either anonymously,
pseudonymously or using their real-world identity. However, posts using real-world
identities might be weighted 10 times higher than pseudonymous ones, and pseudonymous posts might be weighted 10 times higher than anonymous ones. In addition,