242
11 The Self-Organizing Society
participatory information systems that would benefit everyone could be incentivized, too. The money generated from the taxation measures mentioned above
could be used to pay for public information infrastructures and other necessary institutions for the digital age to come. This would help to quickly build
a mutually beneficial information ecosystem. In other words, suitable kinds of
taxation could reward desirable and responsible innovation and the private activities which contribute to this process. Finally, let me stress that such taxation
schemes should not stand in the way of Open Data and open innovation, and
they should not be based on surveillance. Free, open, high-quality data should
be tax exempt. In this context, one should also remember that the additional
economic value accrued from Open Data has been estimated by McKinsey to
be of the order of $3–5 trillion globally per year.
39 It would be great if everyone
could get a share of this cake!
9. Build the infrastructure and institutions for the digital society. I believe
that, so far, no country in the world is well prepared for the digital era to
come and the new principles governing it. Therefore, it would make sense to
engage in an Apollo-like program. The equivalent of a Space Agency in the
field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) could produce an
Innovation Alliance with a mission to develop institutions and informational
infrastructures for the emerging digital era. This is crucial in order to respond
to the challenges of the twenty-first century in a smart way and to release the
full potential of information for our society. For illustration, it is instructive
to recall the numerous factors that enabled the success of the automotive age.
The first prerequisite was the invention of cars and the emergence of mass
production. Public roads, gas stations, and parking lots were then constructed
to provide the infrastructure to make these vehicles useful. The establishment
of driving schools and driver licenses enabled the population to develop the
skillset necessary to benefit from this new transport technology. Traffic rules,
traffic signs, speed controls, and traffic police were used to ensure that the
traffic system ran smoothly. Finally, the invention of new technologies such as
guardrails, anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and airbags greatly improved the
safety of vehicles. All of this requires many billions of dollars of investment each
year. In fact, we invest a lot of resources into the agricultural sector, the industrial
sector, and the service sector. But are we investing enough in the emerging
digital sector? While the digital revolution certainly creates new challenges for
our societies, it also opens up many promising opportunities to address the
challenges we are faced with.
39 McKinsey & Company, Open Data: Unlocking Innovation and Performance with Liquid
Information (2013), see https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/ourinsights/open-data-unlocking-innovationand-performance-with-liquid-information;
see
also
The Boston Consulting Group, The Value of Our Digital Identity (2012), s. https://www.
bcg.com/publications/2012/digital-economy-consumer-insight-value-of-our-digital-identity,
https://web.archive.org/web/20140327104517/http://www.libertyglobal.com/PDF/public-pol
icy/The-Value-of- Our-Digital-Identity.pdf.
11 The Self-Organizing Society
participatory information systems that would benefit everyone could be incentivized, too. The money generated from the taxation measures mentioned above
could be used to pay for public information infrastructures and other necessary institutions for the digital age to come. This would help to quickly build
a mutually beneficial information ecosystem. In other words, suitable kinds of
taxation could reward desirable and responsible innovation and the private activities which contribute to this process. Finally, let me stress that such taxation
schemes should not stand in the way of Open Data and open innovation, and
they should not be based on surveillance. Free, open, high-quality data should
be tax exempt. In this context, one should also remember that the additional
economic value accrued from Open Data has been estimated by McKinsey to
be of the order of $3–5 trillion globally per year.
39 It would be great if everyone
could get a share of this cake!
9. Build the infrastructure and institutions for the digital society. I believe
that, so far, no country in the world is well prepared for the digital era to
come and the new principles governing it. Therefore, it would make sense to
engage in an Apollo-like program. The equivalent of a Space Agency in the
field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) could produce an
Innovation Alliance with a mission to develop institutions and informational
infrastructures for the emerging digital era. This is crucial in order to respond
to the challenges of the twenty-first century in a smart way and to release the
full potential of information for our society. For illustration, it is instructive
to recall the numerous factors that enabled the success of the automotive age.
The first prerequisite was the invention of cars and the emergence of mass
production. Public roads, gas stations, and parking lots were then constructed
to provide the infrastructure to make these vehicles useful. The establishment
of driving schools and driver licenses enabled the population to develop the
skillset necessary to benefit from this new transport technology. Traffic rules,
traffic signs, speed controls, and traffic police were used to ensure that the
traffic system ran smoothly. Finally, the invention of new technologies such as
guardrails, anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and airbags greatly improved the
safety of vehicles. All of this requires many billions of dollars of investment each
year. In fact, we invest a lot of resources into the agricultural sector, the industrial
sector, and the service sector. But are we investing enough in the emerging
digital sector? While the digital revolution certainly creates new challenges for
our societies, it also opens up many promising opportunities to address the
challenges we are faced with.
39 McKinsey & Company, Open Data: Unlocking Innovation and Performance with Liquid
Information (2013), see https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/ourinsights/open-data-unlocking-innovationand-performance-with-liquid-information;
see
also
The Boston Consulting Group, The Value of Our Digital Identity (2012), s. https://www.
bcg.com/publications/2012/digital-economy-consumer-insight-value-of-our-digital-identity,
https://web.archive.org/web/20140327104517/http://www.libertyglobal.com/PDF/public-pol
icy/The-Value-of- Our-Digital-Identity.pdf.