Digitize

IT policy is dead - and digitalization is the new black

Almedalen Digitalization

"The internet is not a thing, it' s the thing," Gunnar Hökmark half-rallied during Wednesday's debate on broadband expansion in sparsely populated areas in Almedalen, and was supported by fellow debaters and opponents.

The following day we held an IT policy debate between the youth associations of the parliamentary parties, who struggled valiantly but in vain to illustrate the differences of opinion on IT policy. For them, IT seemed to be synonymous with the use of IT, and was seen as a natural part of life rather than something separate.

If the Almedalen calendar is used as a gauge of the temperature of different issues, it is easy to see a shift from more technical IT issues to digitalization (i.e. the use of IT), as well as an increased interest in broadband issues:

almedalen_share

This becomes even clearer when compared to the share of total events for each year:

almedalen_number

Hökmark, the youth bans and the statistics above illustrate well a likely direction for Swedish IT policy in the coming years.

  • Broadband access will continue to be, and even more so be recognized as, an absolute prerequisite for continued societal development
  • Digitization is the new black - society's use of IT has become so pervasive that it now directly and indirectly affects everything and everyone.

Paradoxically, this may well mean that IT as a separate policy area disappears. With the technology in place, and increasingly widespread application, it is natural to focus on use and benefit instead of on the tools.

That shift is happening right now. And do we then need a specific policy that deals with IT tool use in society? Or will it be a task for different policy areas, given the actual conditions, IT-related and otherwise, to support the best possible outcome given the resources available?

I believe in the latter, and my guess is that within five years we will have neither an IT minister nor an IT policy that addresses issues beyond basic electronic infrastructure.

If I'm wrong, I might consider eating my hat.