Briefings

The Internet heralded a time of great benefits from digitilisation globally. It was predicted by a Harvard political scientist that teachers connected to the digital world in Lagos, Beijing or Calcutta will be able to access the same electronic journals, books and databases as students at the Sorbonne, Oxford or Harvard. However, it soon became clear that many advantages of digitilisation did not trickle down to lower-income settings. The term ‘digital divide’ was coined to describe three main types of disadvantages and deprivations. First, lack of access to computers and Internet connection. Second, lack of necessary skills or willingness to use digital resources. Third, passive use of Internet facilities (e.g. video streaming) versus active use (e.g. e-voting). SIS could lead to further digital divides, where even previously included businesses and citizens are no longer able to use the benefits of digitilisation in full (e.g. agricultural data analytics may lead to a further growth of large monocultural industrial farms which can afford the technology).