In modern society, different areas of activities are simultaneously going through the gradual process of digital transformation. For example, the healthcare system, transportation, media are all undergoing the process of implementation of digital elements in their work. The article written by Gasser and Almeida centers on the aspects of the future development of government services. The article suggests that currently, there are two prominent ways for the socio-technological development of digital governance that require significant creativity knowledge in different areas of science.
Firstly, to emphasize the importance of a careful approach to digital governance, the authors acknowledge the current threats presented by the digital space. Modern society has already experienced several high-profile threats from digital technologies, including massive cyberattacks, foreign interference in the election processes, and privacy breaches. Therefore, the article states that digital transformation of governmental services on any of the existing levels requires a significant number of regulations, presenting a common topic of political debates (Gasser and Almeida). However, the authors propose that while in the development of other societal transformations, factors such as politics, economy, culture substantially influenced the outcome, in the rapid conditions of digital transformation, they can be insufficient.
Furthermore, the authors discuss the core concept of governance and how it can be transformed in digital technology. Thus, the article defines governance as a collection of regulations of matters associated with society, state, and private actors (Gasser and Almeida). In the context of the specified term of governance, the authors propose two possible ways of developing digital governance that can address the potential threats of digital space. The first way presents analyzing the recent history and the existing conditions of digital space to identify the patterns of the future evolution of digital governance. On the other hand, the second way presents a collective effort of different communities and universities to use different aspects of social and technical sciences to enhance governance cooperation with digital technologies.
Therefore, while the first way or the argument implies the application of the Internet to resolve issues with familiar mechanisms, the second argument is based on principles utilized in the early days of Internet technology adoption. With collective effort from different communities in different regions, led by universities, digital governance can be launched simultaneously as a global network that addresses the complications of legitimacy, inclusivity, and security in a sustainable way. Thus, addressing different issues in digital governance, such as security threats and data leaks, one by one can be executed promptly. However, it can be more helpful and resourceful to start from a theoretical base of government as a concept and build the foundations for digital governance in a collective effort with other countries.
Lastly, in my opinion, the article provides valuable information about the perspectives in digital governance development that can be helpful for the selection of spheres in the future career of IT professionals. Moreover, the article explains how a systematic approach to the issue can help address several issues at once, which can be helpful to broaden the perception of IT professionals about potential methods of resolving mistakes. I was interested in the article because it focused on the subject of contact between computer technology and social sciences, including law, politics, and economics. In my opinion, the development of digital governance in the future can cause the emergence of positions related to the simultaneous use of both IT and social sciences knowledge, such as digital government officials.
Works Cited
Gasser, Urs, and Virgílio Almeida. “Futures of Digital Governance.” Communications of the ACM, vol. 65, no. 3, 2022, pp. 30-32.