The European Union has spectacular digital ambitions and an equally-impressive array of initiatives, proposals, directives and laws, all designed to make the bloc ‘match for the digital age’.
And there is a lot to suggest within the EU plans. Because the bloc underlines, the digital transition ought to actually work for all, put individuals first, and open up new alternatives for enterprise.
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We’re spied on, manipulated and bullied on-line, misinformation and disinformation thrive within the amorphous digital ‘cloud’ — the EU is true to attempt to carry some order into the digital world (Photograph: EUobserver)
Synthetic Intelligence (AI) have to be developed in ways in which respect individuals’s rights and likewise earn their belief. On-line platforms should act in a accountable method.
Digital options are additionally key to combating local weather change, reaching a inexperienced transition they usually may help to foster an open and democratic society.
As illustrated by the growth of the EU’s GDPR directive (which stands for Common Knowledge Safety Regulation), there’s additionally a lot to commend within the EU’s bid to grow to be a worldwide trendsetter for on-line norms, and a worldwide role-model for the digital financial system.
By-and-large, international locations within the International South welcome EU help for his or her efforts to go digital and develop world requirements.
That’s the good aspect of digital Europe. It displays methods during which the EU has a constructive influence on each home digital developments and on the broader technological transformations going down the world over.
Strolling the EU’s good discuss is usually a problem, nevertheless. And that is the place risks lurk.
The contributions on this journal are usually not supposed to supply a fully-comprehensive, goal information to assist readers navigate the ups and downs of digital Europe. As a result of that is the job of EU establishments themselves.
Our publication does present necessary insights into the EU’s ‘digital jungle’, and there’s a useful dictionary of key tech jargon and acronyms, to assist us discover our method with out getting misplaced among the many timber.
In a frank behind-the-scenes interview, European Union Fee vice-president Margarethe Vestager tells us that along with battling the world’s digital giants, she additionally worries a few future the place expertise takes much more management of our lives.
We take a look at the professionals and cons of the methods during which Synthetic Intelligence is taking up our lives — and the large battles forward on regulating (no less than some) facets of AI.
There’s an try additionally to outline the true focus of the EU’s quest for so-called ‘digital strategic autonomy’.
As editor, I’m eager on exploring a few of the untold tales of simply how this quickly reworking digital world is impacting on EU values, on migration coverage, and the way most of the EU’s companions take a look at digital Europe.
Right here too, there’s dangerous information and excellent news. The EU is trampling by itself values and peoples’ right-to-privacy and knowledge safety because it expands its assortment of information in areas equivalent to migration, in line with the EU’s personal data-protection advisor.
Our article on ‘Digital Africa’ factors out that regardless of all of the discuss of constructing an “equal” EU-African partnership, the EU’s colonial mindset prevents it from understanding — and investing in — Africa’s ongoing spectacular digital transformation.
Nonetheless, regardless of their very own exceptional digital achievements, African states, plus China, and international locations within the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are hoping to forge stronger digital partnerships with the EU.
As one in all our authors factors out, it’s now as much as the EU to answer such initiatives by going past “digital tribalism” and work to broaden relations with each like-minded and “unlike-minded” states.
Our digital world is increasing our horizons daily, whereas we try to strike the appropriate steadiness between being on-line and offline, and mirror on the ‘right’ social platform to make use of to speak with family and friends and our new ‘digital associates’: the networks we have now constructed with individuals who share — or do not share — our considerations throughout the globe.
Know-how helped us to dwell and work even because the pandemic compelled us to remain residence. It’s how serving to us discover a higher ‘work-life steadiness’ between working from the workplace and dealing from residence.
But we’re additionally spied on, manipulated and bullied on-line. Misinformation and disinformation thrive within the amorphous digital ‘cloud’, impacting on elections and attempting to unfold hate.
The EU is true to attempt to carry some order into the digital world. However whereas doing so it should not neglect its values.
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