Contamination of Information Ecosystems

1. Contamination of Information Ecosystems By: Amal Al Homosany

2. What’s an info ecosystem? • A metaphor that compares info systems and their behaviors to organic ecosystems. • Info ecosystems include: • Actors • Inhabitants • Environment • Main characteristics of an info ecosystem are: • Stability • Dynamic Interactions • Scalability • Intelligence • Natural Selection of actors

3. Inhabitants Inhabitants Interactions Interactions Interactions Customers Actors Customers Suppliers Suppliers Actors Inhabitants Inhabitants SME’s as an Info Ecosystem Digital SME Environment Ecosystem Products Services Services Product

4. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) • EU goals of turning towards a knowledge-based economy. • Digitalization of business processes. • 20 million SMEs in the EU countries. • Benefits of ICT for SMEs include: • New markets • Novel products • Skillful Value chain management • Customer Relationship Management

5. Then…Why isn’t there pervasive use of technology among SMEs? • Focusing on core business operations • IT-resistance • Business culture • Cost-effectiveness • Security • Confidentiality • Integrity • Corporate privacy

6. Malware… A threat to security • Two main categories of malware: • Distributed solely for a destructive purpose • Poses threats to stability and capacity of a system. • E.g. Viruses, worms, Trojans • Commercially driven malware • Spam messages, adware, spyware, etc.

7. An Info Ecosystem Approach • Actors: • Machiavellian and Intelligent • E.g. Customers and Suppliers • Trustworthy vs. Malicious intents Selfish Competitors Evolution

8. An Info ecosystem Approach (Cont’d) • Interactions • Arms race – escalation of competition • Evolutionary process of action and reaction. • Self-adjusting quality set to improve competitors’ skills. • Tragedy of Commons – exploitation of accessible resources • Common resources are misused by selfish actors. • Costs are spread across all the participants.

9. Will definitely miss you all…..

10. An Info ecosystem Approach (Cont’d) • Red Queen Hypothesis “It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place…” • Evolution Survival • Consequences • Settled Conflicts – actors find a suboptimal solution • Chaotic Breakdown – competitors are outrun ending an arms race or tragedy of commons situation.

11. An Info Ecosystems Model Machiavellian Interactions Consequences Actors (Red Queen Hypothesis) Settled Conflicts Arms Race Human or Digital Chaotic Breakdown Tragedy of the Commons Legislative Solutions

12. Will miss you all………….