South American Expert Roundtable: Increasing Adaptive Governance Capacity for Coping with Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transformation

Abstract

This paper presents the main messages of a South American expert roundtable (ERT) on the unintended side effects (unseens) of digital transformation. The input of the ERT comprised 39 propositions from 20 experts representing 11 different perspectives. The two-day ERT discussed the main drivers and challenges as well as vulnerabilities or unseens and provided suggestions for: (i) the mechanisms underlying major unseens; (ii) understanding possible ways in which rebound effects of digital transformation may become the subject of overarching research in three main categories of impact: development factors, society, and individuals; and (iii) a set of potential action domains for transdisciplinary follow-up processes, including a case study in Brazil. A content analysis of the propositions and related mechanisms provided insights in the genesis of unseens by identifying 15 interrelated causal mechanisms related to critical issues/concerns. Additionally, a cluster analysis (CLA) was applied to structure the challenges and critical developments in South America. The discussion elaborated the genesis, dynamics, and impacts of (groups of) unseens such as the digital divide (that affects most countries that are not included in the development of digital business, management, production, etc. tools) or the challenge of restructuring small- and medium-sized enterprises (whose service is digitally substituted by digital devices). We identify specific issues and effects (for most South American countries) such as lack of governmental structure, challenging geographical structures (e.g., inclusion in high-performance transmission power), or the digital readiness of (wide parts) of society. One scientific contribution of the paper is related to the presented methodology that provides insights into the phenomena, the causal chains underlying “wanted/positive” and “unwanted/negative” effects, and the processes and mechanisms of societal changes caused by digitalization.

Working anywhere and anytime in the 24-h society: impact on the world of work

“…External control has become internal, since information and communication technology equipment have the ability to control each click, as a symbolic invasion. On the other hand, today’s society is still being challenged to deal with aspects of this global digital transformation, which can lead to changes in labor relations, with the unwanted deregulation that can lead to increased social inequality 17 ) .…”

Transforming Government by Leveraging Disruptive Technologies

“…Fifteen examples of the latter have been elicited as unintended consequences of disruptive technologies in digital government, such as digital divide (particularly regarding vulnerable groups) and digital illiteracy, lack of government capacity, social media jeopardizing democracy, data as the new currency and the bias on data-driven decision making, etc. (Pereira et al, 2020;Scholz et al, 2001). The research and training needs outlined in this paper aim to create awareness that the diffusion of disruptive technologies has a wide impact on the way government and its constituency will interact in the future and how societies' cultures and behaviour will potentially change.…”

Transdisciplinarity: science for and with society in light of the university’s roles and functions

“…In its transition to the postindustrial age, the world faces a multitude of essential, complex, ill-defined problems that are not well understood. From a sustainability perspective, rapid climate change, loss of biodiversity, ongoing global-population growth, and seemingly uninterrupted increases in consumption and emissions (Krausmann et al 2017), as well as the increasing social divide (Dorling 2015) and unintended side effects of digitalization (Bakhshi et al 2015;Hilbert 2014;Scholz et al 2018;Sugiyama et al 2017;Viale Pereira et al 2020;WBGU 2019), endanger not only resilient Earth structures and systems but also social structure and order.…”