Being human in a digital world: Questions to guide the Internet’s Evolution
With growing calls to halt AI development and cynicism over the metaverse, we need a framework for visionary businesses, regulators, and society to help shape the future of an internet that promotes, rather than supplants, our humanity. As these technologies change the way we create, relate, see the world, and move through it, we can collectively agree that it should amplify who we are as human beings, better equip us at work, and enhance how we live. The question is, what will it take to ensure that the internet evolves to be more human-centric than technocentric?
Deloitte Southeast Asia’s Center for the Edge makes a bold attempt to articulate what it means to be human, in face of technologies that can mimic or even surpass human capabilities. Regardless of the state of technology, there are four core traits that are fundamental to being human – we are dreamers, storytellers, social and moral beings, and we are also physical beings.
Society, businesses, and regulators all need to be part of the conversation on shaping the next evolution of the internet. We provide a set of questions that need to be considered as we guide our evolution towards the next internet – Are there valid stories from specific groups that are systemically buried because of the invisible hand of technology and commercial interests? Does the business model or technology design provide users with a level of choice such that human beings are not governed or directed by technologies like AI and IoT? Do people have the right to disconnect, given the incentives to be “always on” in a persistent metaverse? and many more questions.
Peeyush Vaish, Partner and TMT Industry Leader, Deloitte India said “The tech-savvy millennial generation in India, comprising 66% of the population under the age of 35, is filled with curiosity and excitement about AI, while also being mindful of an uncertain and ambiguous future. While the future is inevitably fast-paced, instantaneous, and immersive, driven by emerging digital technologies such as 5G, metaverse, and AI, our approach must go beyond mere speed and solutions. It is crucial to prioritize the greater societal good and ensure that technology remains meaningful and human-centred. India’s progress hinges upon strategic collaboration among various stakeholders, including the government, industries, and regulations such as the Digital India Act. This collaborative effort aims to not only empower and safeguard digital citizen rights but also create new avenues and opportunities for growth.”
Duleesha Kulasooriya – Deloitte Asia Pacific Innovation Lead, Center for the Edge, Deloitte Southeast Asia said, “As we think about the inherent humanness that needs to be protected, enabled, and amplified in the next evolution of the internet, society, businesses, and regulators need to weigh their decisions based on what it means to be human. Asking the right questions will be as important as exploring the right answers in our path to designing an internet that is not only technologically brilliant, but also deeply human-centric.”
The next evolution of the internet is already underway, with it developing and maturing at an exponential pace. We stand at a crucial crossroads where we must collectively determine what it means to be human in the age of the more immersive, instantaneous, and intelligent internet that humankind has built. This transformative period demands more than mere answers from institutions; it requires a collective dialogue centered around our shared human experience within this evolving technological landscape. Asking the right questions will be as important as exploring the right answers in our path to designing an internet that is not only technologically brilliant, but also deeply human-centric.
