Digital transformation is having a profound and irreversible impact on our lives, societies and economies at large. Through very high capacity networks, Gigabit connectivity, 5G and emerging data-driven technologies – like AI and IoT – play a crucial part in a new wave of digital services, productivity and growth. As the world becomes more closely connected and digitized, a new sense of vulnerability arises. Trust in democratic processes, governments and corporations is being challenged by disinformation, privacy incidents, ransomware attacks and data breaches. In 2020, the data breach crisis escalated, as more records were compromised in 12 months than in the previous 15 years combined.
The pandemic has accelerated investment in digital transformation. Many companies – SMEs in particular – felt the pressure to implement digital business continuity measures quickly in response to the pandemic – or risk going out of business. In a fast-tracked digital transformation, implementation of emerging technology may race ahead of stakeholder expectations regarding key drivers of trust – like ethics, data privacy, cybersecurity, and transparency. Consequently, organizations tread an increasingly thin line between accelerating data-driven ambitions and safeguarding reputation and trust. A recent global trust survey suggests that trust in the technology sector has reached an all-time low. The same survey shows significant decreases in trust for key digital technologies such as AI, IoT and 5G in Europe.
The European Commission, therefore, rightfully made trust in technology a priority in its Digital Strategy. As EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager recently put it, the level of trust is correlated with the level of digital skills. An important tool to achieve this goal is the Next Generation EU recovery fun ..
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