Information, Knowledge and Innovation Cornerstones of the Information Society?

1. Information, Knowledge and InnovationCornerstones of the Information Society? SMIT – IBBT Leo Van Audenhove STIMULATE 5-6 October 2004 Brussels

2. Four Fallacies of the Information Society

3. Information Society Discourse • IS Discourse often based on growth of Internet • Enormous explosion of Internet since 1990s • New medium with enormous potentials • Decentralized: No (or little) central control • Participatory: Every Receiver is also a Sender • Non-commercial: At least at early stages carried by scientific community

4. Every new media: discourse of emancipation • Internet walhalla of free information • High hopes for educational and social use • eEurope • hope that Internet leads to social cohesion • Hope that Internet new motor of ec. growth • Closing digital divide=closing knowledge divide

5. Access to internet in developing countries • lowers the barriers for access to information • contributing to enhanced performance in all sectors • contributing to individual empowerment • new opportunities for development (catching up=leapfrog) • supported by examples of promising applications • e.g. farmers know prices at the market • e.g. doctors in London help doctors in Lusaka • very powerful images because some truth in them • question whether can be implemented on large scale

6. The four fallacies • Guided discussion on four fallacies of the IS • assumptions underlying much of the discourse of Internet and developmental impact • which can be questioned from the point of view of developmental countries • Information is available • Information is for free • Information is knowledge • Knowledge is social change

7. Discussion • On each point group discussion • Start with an open discussion • Would like you to reflect on basis of • what you have seen in the course • your own experiences in the field

8. Information is available • Assumption: The Internet is a sea of information where individuals and institutions have access to information for empowerment and development. • What information is available, what information not? • Western Bias in information production and provision • e.g. production of scientific material about DC • Internet changes the possibilities of access • Internet does not change the fact that production largely Western • The hidden web • More and more information hidden in databases • Until last year info in Dialog bigger than whole web • Not seen by search engines • Not accessible for many

9. Contextual factors inhibiting access? • Language remains predominantly English • Valuable information is localized and contextualized • E.g. information on HIV • Overload: • Availability might become a problem in itself • Selection becomes more important • Costs time and money

10. Information is free • Assumption: The Internet and the enormous amount of information available will drive the cost of information down. • Two tendencies in information provision • Increasing amount of information free • Eldis: scientific/policy material on different policy areas for DC • Increasing commodification of information • Educational and scientific world • Information from public service institutions • E.g. BBC as public service versus commercial service • Question is what information is for free and what information is not for free? • Impression that strategic information and selection becoming expensive • Contextualization of information remains expensive

11. Information is Knowledge • Assumption: Access to the information on the internet leads to knowledge generation • Knowledge= organised information • Embedded in a social context • Ability to make sense of information, how to relate it to one’s own life • Difficult to acquire • Explicit knowledge: conscious, encodable, transferrable • Tacit knowledge: unconscious, not encodable, has to be learned • Wisdom= • Capacity to know what body of knowledge to use to solve a significant problems • Knowing what questions to ask about knowledge

12. Knowledge is social change • Assumption: Knowledge is sufficient for social change. • Arrogant position • A lot of people know what their situation is and know what the solution is • Other more structural barriers can hamper them from acting • Resources needed to put knowledge into practice • Power relations at different levels local, national and international

13. Information Society Theory & Developing Countries

14. Information Society Theory • Webster five types of theories • technology, economy, occupation, culture, spatial • in recent years most common theories start from technology, i.e. from developments in ICTs • new possibilities in transmission and storage of information • lead to new possibilities in all sectors of society • often very positive about influence on society

15. Two critique from the left • Negation: • Rejection of IS as something new • Webster, Robins and Webster, Garnham, etc. • Evolution: • technological change as the starting point of critique • IS seen as new phase in capitalism • Melody, Mansell, Freeman, Soete, Castells, Antonelli, etc.

16. In this session we focus on the second category • authors starting from technology change • embedding it in broader economic and social processes • from a critical view • (neo-marxian and neo-schumpeterian) • Marx: economy central determinant in social structuring • Schumpeter: technological innovation central for increasing productivity (and thus for growth of economies and competition between economies)

17. Why focus? • a more correct interpretation of what is really happening • sheds more realistic light on possibilities of developing countries to leap-frog (to jump stages of development)

18. Problem of theories • Rather complex, dense and confusing • see ICTs as all-pervasive, changing all sectors • do not distinguish between changes in specific sectors, at economic levels or at level of social institutions and structures • Goal of this session (and article) • rephrase theories according to level of argumentation • look at implications for developing countries • all too often theories of the information society are seen as universally valid • critical authors much more cautious

19. Levels of analysis and conceptualization • The information industry • The micro-economic level • The meso-economic level • The macro-economic level • The social level • Division is somewhat artificial • Most authors combine different levels • BUT: can be very useful as a tool to better understand theory

20. The Information Industry • Mix of factors has fundamentally changed the industry • technological: convergence through digitalization • convergence of telecommunications, media and computing into one sector • political: new international regulatory frameworks • liberalization of markets as result of GATS negotiations • especially in finance, services, telecommunications and electronics • economical: globalization of financial and other markets

21. Why information industry of utmost importance? • Information industry one of few growing sectors in West • in many traditional sectors delocalization of production • hope that employment in information industry (services) will balance the loss • Information industry the underlying industry of information society • produce the technology, services and information products, used and consumed in IS • countries (or blocks) want to harbor new industrial champions • IPR (commodification of information) important

22. What is the position of the developing countries • Technologically two options • try to become part of information industry • enormous investment and capacity needed • road might be long and many losers • import technologies to support economies in other areas • paradox • imports risk to remain high: • ICTs and renewal remain expensive • exports risk to remain low: • higher production in already overcrowded markets • import barriers in the West so far remain intact

23. Culturally • risk of being swamped with Western content and services • interactivity of new technologies potentially provides a channel back (e.g. Internet) • structural imbalance will remain high

24. The Micro-economic level • Level of individual firm • knowledge most important factor in production • R&D driving force of innovation • Marketing driving force of distribution • ICTs the underlying infrastructure • e.g. Cellphone and Medicine • also more and more the case in services • knowledge driven production makes innovation cyclus very fast • Cellphones: huge, sexy, color, tunes, MMS, gaming

25. What does that mean for policy? • Knowledge Society in the West supported by complex web of public and private institutions that support education, research and innovation • life long learning • flexibilization of employment • What does it mean for developing countries • information society is a knowledge society • not only question of access to information • question of education, research, connection between research and education, industrial development, etc.

26. The Meso-economic level • Focus on the level of interaction between firms • classical theories of economy: market place • new theories of economy: network economy • firms work in close networks • rely on each others R&D and knowledge • are strongly interdependent • e.g. car production (doors Sidmar-VW) • two consequences • high performance ICT networks important for communication • geographic proximity highly important

27. What does that mean for policy? • in West stimulation of technology valleys • Silicon Valley, Munich Area, Paris Area, etc. • invest in high performance ICT and transport infrastructure • What does that mean for developing countries? • very difficult to become part of the industrial network • invest in ICT infrastructure and skilled labour • Malaysia: MultiMediaCorridor • South Africa: plans to develop Jo’burg-Pretoria ax • make investment attractive through tax-exemptions, etc. • contradictory

28. The Macro-economic level • Focus on economic structures of countries • Globalization of central economic activity • liberalization of most markets (since 1980s) • ICTs makes it possible to integrate segments of markets worldwide

29. Shift in balance between states and capital (firms) • powerless states • states have to compete against each other for companies and economic activity • DHL, Ford Motors Genk • creation of a global network economy • only those places interesting for the global network economy are connected • large parts of the developing countries and disadvantaged regions in the West disconnected • Where does it leave Africa?

30. What is the role of policy in the powerless state? • Create an enabling environment for investment • High skilled (low wage) workers • Good educational system • Pleasant environment to live • High quality infrastructures • ICTs and telecommunications • Transport • Low-taxes both on employment and companies • What does it mean for developing countries • Exactly the same

31. The Social level • Globally two types of labour • self-programmable labour: • highly educated and flexible workers • flexible in terms of learning and relearning • allowed to move globally • e.g. Indian Engineers and Informatics specialists • generic labour: • non skilled workers • easily replaceble by either technology or delocalization of production • not allowed to move globally • e.g. economic asylum seekers in the West

32. What does it mean for society • rebalancing of wages - growing inequality • together with pressure on taxes to keep economic activity within countries • in the West pressure on the Welfare state

33. Don’t want to end negative • Is this a gloomy picture on the future? • Yes it is. • Is there hope? • Yes there is. • Counter-reaction • Developing countries starting to question global economic structures (Cancun) • South Africa, Brazil, Egypt, India leading countries • In the West movement for an alternative globalisation