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The Fluid Society
The term “the fluid society” stands for the unfolding digital society, which will irrevocably be organised differently from the current one. In which there will be more global digital cooperation in numerous contexts. This is not only desirable, but also necessary in order to master the major problems of our time. These collaborations will have to take place digitally as much as possible, because that is more efficient, cheaper and more sustainable. A different way of thinking is necessary, to overcome the great contradictions between people and cultures and to come into balance with a healthy nature and living environment. To give people a new social footing. The current state of the world emphatically calls for holistic, inclusive, long-term thinking to prevail over the current national, self-centred and short-term thinking. If we can do that, there are good prospects for everyone.
On this website, blogs are posted, news items are published, links are indicated, books and articles are discussed, that deal with this future fluid society.
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The Digital Challenge for Europe
“The Digital Challenge for Europe” is available as an e-book from Apple Books, Google Books, Kindle, Kobo...
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Review by Patrice Chazerand on “The Digital Challenge for Europe”
There is much to love in Peter Hagedoorn’s vision of a “Fluid Society”. There is also much...
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To build a better world after the COVID crisis …
To build a better world from the Covid crisis, we need a global push to connect the...
Read moreLatest news
- EU launches IA rules 21 April 20201
- Huawei was able to eavesdrop on Dutch mobile network KPN 17 April 2021
- EU IT Professionalism Conference 20-22 April 2021
- NeuroRights Initiative Colombia University April 2021
- The Guardian Chips shortage 21 March 2021
- EU Digital Day 19 March 2021
- CNN Business about Cyber Threats 16 March 2021
- The Guardian about WWW and Internet 15 March
- Letter from woman Prime Ministers about Digital EU 1 March 2021
Europe fit for the Digital Age: Commission proposes new rules and actions for excellence and trust in Artificial Intelligence
The Commission proposes today new rules and actions aiming to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI). The combination of the first-ever legal framework on AI and a new Coordinated Plan with Member States will guarantee the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses, while strengthening AI uptake, investment and innovation across the EU. New rules on Machinery will complement this approach by adapting safety rules to increase users' trust in the new, versatile generation of products.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age, said: “On Artificial Intelligence, trust is a must, not a nice to have. With these landmark rules, the EU is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted. By setting the standards, we can pave the way to ethical technology worldwide and ensure that the EU remains competitive along the way. Future-proof and innovation-friendly, our rules will intervene where strictly needed: when the safety and fundamental rights of EU citizens are at stake.”
Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said: “AI is a means, not an end. It has been around for decades but has reached new capacities fueled by computing power. This offers immense potential in areas as diverse as health, transport, energy, agriculture, tourism or cyber security. It also presents a number of risks. Today's proposals aim to strengthen Europe's position as a global hub of excellence in AI from the lab to the market, ensure that AI in Europe respects our values and rules, and harness the potential of AI for industrial use.”
NL/Times. Chinese technology company Huawei would have had free access to KPN's mobile network in the past and could eavesdrop on all conversations. De Volkskrant writes this based on a secret report from 2010 which their editorial staff reviewed.
According to the newspaper, Huawei was able to eavesdrop on mobile numbers from the telecom provider at that time. This also included the phones of the then Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, various ministers, and Chinese dissidents. Huawei also knew which numbers were tapped by police and intelligence services.
Huawei’s says it never acted inappropriately by abusing its position in the Netherlands. KPN says in a response that it has no indications that lines were tapped or that customer data was stolen.
KPN used Huawei's technology in 2009. Six Chinese employees of the company worked at the then head office in The Hague. In that year, the telecom provider asked Capgemini researchers to analyze any risks associated with Huawei and how the Chinese company behaved within KPN. The domestic security service AIVD had already warned KPN several times about the risk of espionage by Huawei.
The IT Professionalism Conference 2021 will take place during three half-day online sessions on 20-22 April.
The event will be co-hosted by IT Professionalism Europe (ITPE), eSkills Malta Foundation and Irish Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition. The event will encompass a wide range of topics of importance to both young and experienced IT professionals and practitioners. The conference will take a European perspective as well as those from other continents, and will feature various European initiatives, ideas and projects relating to developing digital technologies. This year we will also focus on what it means to become an IT Professional – particularly for young people preparing for an IT career.
Any technology that records or interferes with brain activity is defined as Neurotechnology. Neurotechnology, especially when paired with artificial intelligence, has the potential to foundationally alter society. In the coming years, it will be possible to decode thought from neural activity or enhance cognitive ability by linking the brain directly to digital networks. Such innovations could challenge the very notion of what it means to be human. The work of the NRI is based on three seminal articles, "Four ethical priorities for neurotechnologies and AI", "Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology" and "It's Time for Neuro-Rights".
Consumer price rises loom while dearth of semiconductors slow production from Samsung to Ford.
Consumers are facing price rises and shortages of products from TVs and mobile phones to cars and games consoles as a global shortage in semiconductors grows.
The shortage in chips, the “brain” within every electronic device in the world, has been steadily worsening since last year.
Initially the problem was only a temporary delay in supplies as factories shut down when the coronavirus pandemic first hit.
However, although production is back to normal, a new surge in demand driven by changing habits fuelled by the pandemic means that it is now reaching crisis point.
Car manufacturers investing in tech-heavy electric vehicles, the boom in sales of TVs and home computers and launch of new games consoles and 5G-enabled mobile phones have all driven demand.
EU countries commit to key digital initiatives for Europe's Digital Decade. Today, at the online Digital Day 2021, Ministers representing EU Member States signed three Declarations to pool efforts and resources to promote international connectivity, incentivise the rollout of clean digital technologies and improve the regulatory environment for start-ups and scale-ups. These tangible commitments will help accelerate Europe’s green and digital transformation and will contribute to the vision and goals of Europe's Digital Decade.
We must defend against the cyber threats facing our global financial systems.
Today, the assessment that a major cyber attack poses a threat to financial stability is axiomatic— not a question of if, but when. Yet the world's governments and companies continue to struggle to contain the threat because it remains unclear who is responsible for protecting the system.
Increasingly concerned, key voices are sounding the alarm. In February 2020, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank and former head of the International Monetary Fund, warned that a cyber attack could trigger a serious financial crisis. In April 2020, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) warned that "a major cyber incident, if not properly contained, could seriously disrupt financial systems, including critical financial infrastructure, leading to broader financial stability implications." The potential economic costs of such events can be immense and the damage to public trust and confidence significant.
Interview with Tim Berners-Lee: ‘We need social networks where bad things happen less’. The father of the world wide web talks about its first 30 years, the rise of the toxic internet – and whether Facebook needs to be broken up. Quote:"After Brexit and Trump, I think a lot of people realised: ‘We need to have a web that spreads more truth than rubbish.’ And at that point, the Web Foundation said: ‘It’s not just about getting the web to everyone, it has to serve humanity in a positive way."
Four woman Prime Ministers write a letter to the European Commission saying that digital transformation within Europe is vital for the recovery. They say:" .........At the same time, the dependencies and shortcomings in European digital capacities,skills and technologies have become more apparent. A significant amount of digital value-added and innovation takes place outside Europe. Data has become a new currency which is mainly collected and stored outside Europe. And fundamental democraticvalues areunder severe pressure in theglobaldigital sphere".
The Digital Challange for Europe
The book “The Digital Challenge for Europe” is published and contains a large amount of information and ideas about the fluid society that is unfolding. Besides analyzing the effects of digitalization on people and humanity, the book also addresses the major issues that governments are now struggling with as a result of digitalization effects. Which forms of governance could possibly offer a solution to master the many issues that are nowat stake?
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Reviews
5/5
Peter Hagedoorn was the first CIO of the year in 2005. He has had a long career with Shell, the government and VP and CIO with multinationals. Now he has written a beautiful book called “The Fluid Society”. In just a few decades, “the economy” and “society” have been digitized. Every citizen can know at any time what is happening (anywhere in the world) and is ‘online’ 24/7.
Rob Beijleveld
CEO ICT-Media
In just a few decades, “the economy” and “society” have been digitized. Every citizen can know at any time what is happening (anywhere in the world). All this has enormous effects on the way in which societies function. The physical world is no longer the most important thing, but the digital world is actually the world in which more and more people are literally working and partly living.
Marco Derksen
Digitaal strateeg/ ondernemer/ docent
We are in the process of making a major shift from classical society to digital society. This transition is a phase transition. Peter Hagedoorn compares this in his book with the transition from ice (solid, structure) to water (liquid, fluid, mobile).
The problem is that administrators and policymakers think it will all find its place and they just can stick to the old structures. That can’t go well for long.
Nico Jong
Senior advisor Communication research