The aphorism “The fast will eat the slow” was held up at this ASL seminar as the harsh law governing the digital ecosystem of today and tomorrow. To be “fast”, however, implies being able to rely on technologically-advanced infrastructure capable of sustaining competition at an international level. Indeed, major firms are continuing to invest in technology, even in the midst of the current crisis, precisely because of their acceptance that competitiveness drives economic growth, and that improving education and speeding up bureaucracy are not sufficient alone. But while cognizant that industry is doing its share, the participants called on policymakers to take steps to ensure a more balanced regulatory environment. In particular, it was felt that less European budgetary resources should be earmarked to support agriculture, and more should be allocated towards the development of the digital sector.
Not all in attendance agreed, however, with the need for government intervention, especially in the form of public investment in this sector. The case of the United States was cited as an example, where appropriations of no less than 7 billion dollars have failed to yield the desired results. The situation was nevertheless acknowledged as being different in the UK, since the BBC – a public broadcaster – has led the charge towards new digital platforms, and particularly the use of social media. It was thought that while the Digital Agenda for Europe provides a good starting point, it is necessary to proceed with its implementation for the time being and then look beyond. In the case of Italy in particular, the participants pointed to its very low ranking among digitally-enabled countries (twenty-fifth out of twenty-seven), and noted that it continues to lag behind in many though not all areas. In terms of the take-up of innovative products such as tablets and smartphones, for instance, Italy is on par with other countries. Some participants highlighted the need for government reforms to promote competitive infrastructure, so as to improve the quality of services and facilitate cooperation between all actors in the digital ecosystem, whilst avoiding – not just in Italy, but also in other industrialized countries – excessive protection of incumbent market players.
Although it was conceded that infrastructure continues to be a driver of growth, it was also stressed that the more interconnected a system is, the more fragile it proves, and that “speed for news” is a source of instability. This was also seen as applicable to the relationship between the internet and intelligence gathering, which has been a hot topic of debate for a long time, not just recently with the media focus on the Snowden case. The events of September 11, 2001 have made security a top American priority, and not even President Obama faced with a list of a hundred potential terrorists can afford to let a single one slip under the net, making this a case where national security trumps privacy concerns. According to some participants, a sort of vicious cycle has been created between what the state knows about every citizen and what should be protected as private. There was much discussion of the example set by the Chicago Police Department, which uses hi-tech mapping of the city to pinpoint hotspots for recurring crime, thus enabling police units to be deployed there preventatively. It was suggested that this could also work to combat local and occasional petty crime, though it might be less effective against organized crime.
Modern technologies – and cloud systems in particular – were seen as posing huge questions regarding the storage and categorization of data, not so much from a cost perspective, but in terms of data management and security. The fact is – and this was recognized as true even in respect of highly-sensitive data – there is now a vast body of scrambled information which it is not yet possible to analyze and categorize. This was seen as making the development of mathematical and methodical systems that allow intelligent analysis imperative, given that, in more than a few instances, inappropriate decisions have been taken due to a failure to understand or the misinterpretation of data.
Without detracting from the importance of infrastructure as a driver of growth, it was widely acknowledged that the digital ecosystem today is essentially content-driven. According to recent figures, 65% of users search the internet for videos. Consequently, entertainment has become a core delivery function, just as content delivery and devices that act as delivery channels have become strategic. It was recalled that, in Italy, users spend four hours a day on average in front of some type of device screen. Moreover, they often browse another device while watching TV. The new content frontier is “mobile”, and basically anyone can provide content. The first images of the tsunami in Japan and the Occupy Wall Street protests, and the boldest coverage of the Syrian situation, has all been multimedia content generated by “citizen journalists”. Users are increasingly becoming story tellers, and this is one of the many reasons for the crisis facing newspaper networks and news agencies. Indeed, there have been many high-profile cases of long-established newspapers closing down, especially in the US. At the same time, however, the crisis has spurred major media companies into action, so much so that the main innovations have unsurprisingly come out of the television industry. The mainstream media – with a few exceptions – no longer seems to be under attack, but is once more competitive and fighting fit, because the various platforms have come to represent opportunities, production costs have dropped, and the cloud is allowing work to be pooled. All of which was seen as demonstrating that, once again, competitiveness has acted as a driver of creativity, as well as provoking successful responses to the worst challenges thrown up by the crisis.