Modeling Digital Penetration of the Industrialized Society and its Ensuing Transfiguration

TL;DR

This paper proposes a comprehensive model of the digital transformation in industrial society, emphasizing the potential for controlled societal change during the early stages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Contribution

It introduces a unified ecosystem model that integrates value creation, consumption, infrastructure, skills, and governance, focusing on digital transfiguration of society.

Findings

Model validated through analogy with the automobile industry

Aligns stakeholders on digital transformation journey

Highlights opportunities for controlled societal change

Abstract

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, ushered by the deeper integration of digital technologies into professional and social spaces, provides an opportunity to meaningfully serve society. Humans have tremendous capability to innovatively improve social well-being when the situation is clear. Which was not the case during the first three revolutions. Thus, society has been accepting lifestyle changes willingly and several negative consequences unwillingly. Since the fourth one is still in its infancy, we can control it better. This paper presents a unified model of the industrialized ecosystem covering value creation, value consumption, enabling infrastructure, required skills, and additional governance. This design thinking viewpoint, which includes the consumer side of digital transformation, sets the stage for the next major lifestyle change, termed Digital Transfiguration. For validation and ease of comprehension, the model draws upon the well-understood automobile industry. This model unifies the digital penetration of both industrial creation and social consumption, in a manner that aligns several stakeholders on their transformation journey.