This report, prepared for Fujitsu, explores the potential implications of the new digital paradigm for society. Disruption has become the defining theme of doing business in the 21st century, but this report acknowledges the human side to this story.
Technology has the power to accelerate development, but in doing so, it could exacerbate existing inequalities, and only by recognising this potential can we attempt to mitigate the consolidation of status-quo so that everyone can prosper from the innovation technology facilitates. To do this, a panel of more than 20 experts from around the world rated a selection of technological and socio-demographic trends in order to create a series of potential scenarios, evaluating the certainty of trends emerging, and their potential impacts.
In creating these scenarios – one positive, one negative – we can see both a guideline for an optimistic future, and a warning of how, unchecked, technology could magnify existing problems. Heeding these lessons, and choosing the right path, will be crucial.