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Review
. 2020 Jun;22(2):189-194.
doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.2/mhilbert.

Digital technology and social change: the digital transformation of society from a historical perspective

Martin Hilbert  1
Affiliations
Review

Digital technology and social change: the digital transformation of society from a historical perspective

Martin Hilbert. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2020 Jun.

Abstract
in English, Spanish, French

Digital technology, including its omnipresent connectedness and its powerful artificial intelligence, is the most recent long wave of humanity's socioeconomic evolution. The first technological revolutions go all the way back to the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages, when the transformation of material was the driving force in the Schumpeterian process of creative destruction. A second metaparadigm of societal modernization was dedicated to the transformation of energy (aka the "industrial revolutions"), including water, steam, electric, and combustion power. The current metaparadigm focuses on the transformation of information. Less than 1% of the world's technologically stored information was in digital format in the late 1980s, surpassing more than 99% by 2012. Every 2.5 to 3 years, humanity is able to store more information than since the beginning of civilization. The current age focuses on algorithms that automate the conversion of data into actionable knowledge. This article reviews the underlying theoretical framework and some accompanying data from the perspective of innovation theory. .

La tecnología digital, que incluye una altísima conectividad y una poderosa inteligencia artificial, constituye el desarrollo mÃĄs reciente y significativo en la evoluciÃģn socioeconÃģmica de la humanidad. Las primeras revoluciones tecnolÃģgicas se remontan a las Edades de Piedra, Bronce y Hierro, cuando la transformaciÃģn del material fue la fuerza impulsora en el proceso Schumpeteriano de destrucciÃģn creativa. Un segundo metaparadigma de modernizaciÃģn social fue el que ocurriÃģ con la transformaciÃģn de la energía (tambiÃĐn conocida como "revoluciones industriales"), incluyendo el agua, el vapor, la electricidad y la energía de combustiÃģn. El metaparadigma actual se centra en la transformaciÃģn de la informaciÃģn. A fines de la dÃĐcada de 1980, menos del 1% de la informaciÃģn almacenada tecnolÃģgicamente en el mundo estaba en formato digital y ha llegado a mÃĄs del 99% en 2012. Cada 2,5 a 3 aÃąos, la humanidad puede almacenar mÃĄs informaciÃģn que desde el comienzo de la civilizaciÃģn. La era actual se centra en algoritmos que automatizan la conversiÃģn de datos en conocimiento procesable. Desde la perspectiva de la teoría de la innovaciÃģn, este artículo revisa el marco teÃģrico subyacente y algunos datos inherentes a ÃĐl.

La technologie numÃĐrique, sa connectivitÃĐ omniprÃĐsente et la puissance de l’intelligence artificielle font vivre à l’humanitÃĐ sa phase d’ÃĐvolution la plus longue sur un plan socio-ÃĐconomique. Les premiÃĻres rÃĐvolutions technologiques remontent à l'ÃĒge de pierre, du bronze et du fer, lorsque la transformation de la matiÃĻre ÃĐtait le moteur du processus schumpÃĐtÃĐrien de destruction crÃĐatrice. La transformation de l'ÃĐnergie qu’elle soit hydraulique, à vapeur, ÃĐlectrique ou par combustion (aussi appelÃĐe "rÃĐvolutions industrielles") est à l’origine d’un deuxiÃĻme mÃĐta-modÃĻle de modernisation sociÃĐtale basÃĐe sur le changement technologique. La transformation de l'information est au centre du mÃĐta-modÃĻle actuel. Moins de 1 % de l’information ÃĐtait stockÃĐe en format numÃĐrique à la fin des annÃĐes 80, contre plus de 99 % en 2012Tous les 2,5 à 3 ans, l’humanitÃĐ est capable d’archiver plus d’informations que celles crÃĐÃĐes depuis le dÃĐbut des civilisations. Nous sommes maintenant entrÃĐs dans l'ÃĻre des algorithmes qui automatisent la conversion des donnÃĐes en connaissances exploitables. Dans cet article, nous nous plaçons du point de vue de l’innovation pour analyser le cadre thÃĐorique de cette transformation et certaines donnÃĐes qui y sont inhÃĐrentes.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; creative destruction; digital age; digital revolution; information; information overload; information society; innovation; technology.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Schematic presentation of Schumpeterian long waves. GDP, gross domestic product
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. The world’s technological capacity to store and telecommunicate information. Non-high-income telecom refers to the ratio of installed bandwidth capacity between non-high-income countries and high-income countries. EB, exabytes; ZB, zetabytes; Tb/s, terabits per second
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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