Planet Earth is becoming hyperconnected. This transformation is called the Internet of Things, Connected Devices, Programmable World, and many other names. As a result, we are at a major crossroad. What are the conditions under which this change becomes the guiding development of our time? How can we support positive change and use technology to create a better world?
Independent non-profit Nordic thinkthank Demos Helsinki has identified 10 principles to guide development towards a hyperconnected, sustainable planet. Our claim is that if these principles are not followed, our hyperconnected planet will have a more dystopian than utopian future.
We’re using the principles to construct an index for comparing nations, cities, and companies, and providing them with recommendations about how to do this correctly.
I. The Parity principle
In order for hyperconnectedness to be the most significant development of our era, it has to play its part in solving the grand challenges of our times.
Currently, human development is tied to increased resource consumption. Decoupling this correlation is one of humanity’s biggest challenges. In order to ensure social in all parts of the world, disconnection of material and energy usage needs to be achieved.
The Parity principle is not only an opportunity, but also an imperative. Technological progress often provides applications and things that are nice to have, but it doesn’t always solve concrete and significant societal challenges. However, we’re currently living through a transition. More and more people are looking for substantive solutions instead of mobile games. Many of the pioneers of the digital era, such as Elon Musk, are calling for grand solutions. Mechanisms and actors such as the Founders’ Fund and the Singularity University are emerging to support initiatives that provide concrete solutions through technological innovation.
However, the Parity principle doesn’t only apply to technological innovations. It also implies a wider paradigm shift in which hyperconnectedness should initiate solutions for the world’s problems instead of gimmicks and insignificant applications.
These two approaches depict alternative routes through which hyperconnectedness can help to decouple the correlation between human development and ecological consumption. Progress can be measured through the slope between the Human Developmen Index (HDI) and the ecological footprint.
read more:http://nakedapproach.fi/2015/07/16/10-nordic-principles-for-a-hyperconnected-planet/