IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020 - 21

empowered levers of change most
relevant to each system and outline
the research and innovation agen-
da, outlined in the D^2S Agenda.
These are summarized in Figure 3.

nologies (data, algorithms, inter-
faces), businesses (operators of the
platforms), and users - where users
include individuals, corporations,
governments, and civil society [23].
Platforms enable users to market
personal assets, experiences, or
skills at a scale previously inaccessi-
ble to individuals or small enterprises
(e.g., Airbnb, Uber, Huffington Post).
As a result, platforms can shift eco-
nomic power to individuals, away
from traditional institutions, such as
hotels, taxis, and newspapers. How-
ever, platforms also lead to a con-
centration of power in the hands of
the few platform operators, who posi-
tion themselves as the gatekeepers
and mediators of data, content, and
value [24]. The platform economy
has given rise to "surveillance capital-
ism," which uses consumer data to

invisible hand has morphed into a
"digital hand" [20], where transac-
tions and even intentions and deci-
sions are increasingly mediated by
computers. It is still unclear what
the implications of the digital hand
will be for people and planet. But
the digital hand clearly has a pow-
erful influence on consumer and
citizen behaviors, and thus has the
potential to steer society towards
a more sustainable and equitable
development trajectory.

Research and Innovation
Agenda
Economic Systems
The prevailing neoliberal econom-
ic paradigm and linear models of
production and consumption are
increasing inequalities, perpetuat-
ing vulnerabilities, and accelerating
environmental degradation [18, 19].
The intellectual underpinning of
neoliberalism is Adam Smith's
"invisible hand" - the idea that the
market provides for the needs of
society without much government
intervention. In the digital age, the

Digital Platforms
The digital age has given rise to new
business models built on digital
platforms [21], which have enabled
a new economy based on sharing,
giving, or obtaining access to goods
and services [18], [22]. Platforms
work through the interplay of tech-

Remote sensors and online activity are making
transparency the norm.

Intelligent
Systems

Big data, machine learning, and cloud computing
have enabled smart systems combining human.

Mass
Collaboration

The social web, mobile device and distributed
ledger systems enabled new ways to collaborate
around the world.

Mixed
Reality

Advanced digital technologies are merging
the physical and virtual worlds, shifting how
humans engage with each other and
the environment.

Unprecedented
Transparency

R IS
Mi ules TIN
nd , P G
se ow
ts er
,

Digital Disruptors

Elec
tric
ity

Transport

Cognitive
d
Lan

Economics

try
us
nd

Governance

ower,

Rules, P

NEW Mindsets

Fo
od

FIGURE 2. Four digital disruptors and systems change. The D^2S Agenda identified four digital disruptors that have the potential
to impact influential leverage points of systems change. The outer circle represents the proximate sources of GHG emissions that are
contributing to the high emissions pathway. The gears inside this circle represent the social systems cutting across all emitting sectors.
The black chain that is connected to the center of the gears represents that these social systems are constrained by the rules, power
structures, and mindsets embedded in them. The premise of this report is that the digital disruptors are disrupting the rules, power
structures, and mindsets, and open up the potential to steer us to a lower GHG emissions path - represented by the blue arrow.

JUNE 2020

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IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020

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