Introduction to the Digital Age

Martin Hilbert (Dr., PhD)

 Introduction to the Digital Age
Source: The Economist, Hilbert (2011); https://youtu.be/iIKPjOuwqHo

Martin Hilbert (Dr., PhD)

 1876

Aristotle
(~350 B.C.)

Abraham Lincoln
(1860)

Image source: Wikipedia commons.

 Aristotle
(~350 B.C.)

Abraham Lincoln
(1860)

Image source: Wikipedia commons.

Paul Butler (2010), Facebook.com
Paul Butler (2010), Facebook.com; The Economist, Hilbert (2011); https://youtu.be/iIKPjOuwqHo
avg. min. 2013:
 350,000 tweets
 400,000 photos Flickr, Shapchat,
Instagram, Facebook
 700,000 Facebook posts
 2,000,000 Google searches
 11 hours of audio SoundCloud
 100 hours of video YouTube

8am
9am
10am

Source:
Paul Butler (2010), Facebook.com;
Wikipedia Commons
TED-Ed. (2013). Visualizing the
world’s Twitter data - Jer Thorp.
http://www.youtube.com
 Global information storage capacity in optimally compressed MB

2002:
the beginning
of the digital age
50%
% digital:
1% 3% 25 % 94 %
Source: Washington Post, based on Hilbert and Lopez, 2011
What is Information
and Communication
Technology (ICT)?
 Digital convergence on the bit

Communication
Electro Radio TV
Smoke & Trumpet, News Chappe magnetic Tele- broad- trans- Cellular
Fire Signals, horns paper Telegraph Telegraph phone casting mission 1973
Drums, etc. 100 B.C. 1502 1794 1837 1876 1918 1927
 Digital convergence on the bit

Communication
Electro Radio TV
Smoke & Trumpet, News Chappe magnetic Tele- broad- trans- Cellular
Fire Signals, horns paper Telegraph Telegraph phone casting mission 1973
Drums, etc. 100 B.C. 1502 1794 1837 1876 1918 1927
 Digital convergence on the bit

Communication
Electro Radio TV
Smoke & Trumpet, News Chappe magnetic Tele- broad- trans- Cellular
Fire Signals, horns paper Telegraph Telegraph phone casting mission 1973
Drums, etc. 100 B.C. 1502 1794 1837 1876 1918 1927
 Digital convergence on the bit

Claude Shannon
(1948)
Communication
Electro Radio TV
Smoke & Trumpet, News Chappe magnetic Tele- broad- trans- Cellular
Fire Signals, horns paper Telegraph Telegraph phone casting mission 1973
Drums, etc. 100 B.C. 1502 1794 1837 1876 1918 1927
What is the role of ICT
for social change?
 ICT are always there…

Source: Center for the Digital Future. (2014). 2014 Digital Future Project: Surveying the Digital Future, Year Twelve. USC,
Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcenter.org
 …ICT are
everywhere…
100
Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions Source: ITU, 2014; Center for the Digital Future. (2014). 2014 Digital Future Project: Surveying
90 the Digital Future, Year Twelve. USC, Annenberg Digital Future. http://www.digitalcenter.org
Individuals using the Internet 95.5
80
Fixed-telephone subscriptions
70 Active mobile-broadband subscriptions
Per 100 inhabitants

60 Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions

50
40.4
40
32.0
30

20 15.8
10
9.8
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014*
 …but is it the most important thing out there?

What is more
important than ICT?
Make a list!

Source: Wikipedia Commons, Flickr Commons, Pixabay Commons; frikipix; ThisOneSite.com

So what’s the fuzz about the digital revolution ?

"You however, students of this world, never forget

that behind every technology is somebody who is using
it and this somebody is a society... And that technology
is a weapon, and whoever feels that the world is not as
perfect as it should be, should fight, so that the weapon
of technology is used to the benefit of society... so
that we can build the society of the future, no matter
what name it may be given”

ERNESTO (Che) GUEVARA DE LA SERNA

29 August, 1963
Closing address to the International Meeting of Architect Students 1963.
 …as a means to the more important ends!

What is more
important than ICT?
Make a list!

Source: Wikipedia Commons, Flickr Commons, Pixabay Commons; frikipix; ThisOneSite.com

 Technological determinism vs. outcome

Social construction of technology tech outcome

GOOD
BAD

“Technology is neither good nor outcome

nor is it neutral” (!)

…just like any other tool…

think about the hammer:

We shape our tools and our tools shape us!

Source: Kranzberg, M. (1986). Technology and History: “Kranzberg’s Laws.” Technology and Culture, 27(3), 544. http://mashable.com/2013/03/09/twitter-revolution/
McLuhan, M., & Lapham, L. H. (1994). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press.
How can we think about the
interplay among technology,
society and policy?
 Infrastructure
Generic services
Capabilities, skills,
culture

e-government

e-education
e-business

Source: Hilbert, Martin, ECLAC, 2002;

e-health
Hilbert, M. (2012). Towards a Conceptual Framework for ICT for Development: Lessons Learned from the Latin American “Cube Framework.” ITID, 8(4), 243–259.
 Development
Infrastructure of ICT
Generic services
Capabilities, skills,
culture

e-government

e-education
e-business

e-health
ICT for
Development
Policy
instruments

Source: Hilbert, Martin, ECLAC, 2002;

Hilbert, M. (2012). Towards a Conceptual Framework for ICT for Development: Lessons Learned from the Latin American “Cube Framework.” ITID, 8(4), 243–259.
 Infrastructure
Generic services
Capabilities, skills,
culture

e-government

e-education
e-business

Source: Hilbert, Martin, ECLAC, 2002;

e-health
Hilbert, M. (2012). Towards a Conceptual Framework for ICT for Development: Lessons Learned from the Latin American “Cube Framework.” ITID, 8(4), 243–259.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure
Generic services
Capabilities, skills,
culture

e-government
 for ICT infrastructure

Incentives
& in e-government
financing
 Infrastructure
Generic Services
Regulation
&
legislation affects all
Generic Services e-sectors
 Infrastructure
Generic services
Capabilities, skills,
culture

e-government

e-education
e-business

Source: Hilbert, Martin, ECLAC, 2002;

e-health
Hilbert, M. (2012). Towards a Conceptual Framework for ICT for Development: Lessons Learned from the Latin American “Cube Framework.” ITID, 8(4), 243–259.
What aspects will we cover in
this course?
Global Digital Development
week 2
Global Digital Development
week 2
 e-Readiness Indices
1. ITU’s ICT Development Index (IDI)

Source: Minges, 2005, ECLAC United Nations, http://www.eclac.org/SocInfo/

 e-Readiness Indices
1. ITU’s ICT Development Index (IDI)
2. Digital Access Index (DAI)
3. Digital Opportunity Index (DOI)
4. Index of Knowledge Societies (IKS)
5. Knowledge Economy Index (KEI)
6. Network Readiness Index (NRI)
7. Technology Achievement Index (TAI)
8. UNCTAD Index of ICT Diffusion
9. UN PAN E-Readiness Index
10. World Bank ICT Index.
11. Orbicom Digital Divide Index
12. Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) e-readiness
13. Composite index of technological capabilities (ArCo)
Source: Minges, 2005, ECLAC United Nations, http://www.eclac.org/SocInfo/
Technological Change
week 3
Sources: Xerox Palo Alto Research Center; Lord Karnage. (2009). Classic Game Room HD - PONG for Nintendo DS / GBA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrezFjGF-Kg
Source: destinygame. (2014). Official Destiny Live Action Trailer – Become
Legend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZyQK6kUdWQ
Rockstar Games. (2013). Grand Theft Auto V: Official Gameplay Video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-xHcvug3WI
Social Evolution
week 4
 Our […] age:
• “Digital Age” (Negroponete, 1995)
• “Post-industrial society” (Bell, 1973)
• “Fifth Kondratiev” (Perez, 1983)
• “Information Society” (Webster, 1995)
• “Network Society” (Castells, 1996)
• “Age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)” (Freeman and Louça, 2001)

Long waves through General Purpose Technologies

Stone-age: 2.000.000 – 3.300 B.C. = 1.996.700 years
Bronze-age: 3.300 – 1.200 B.C. = 2.100 years
Iron-age: 1.200 – 586 B.C. = 614 years
 Information and
How does society evolve? Communication
Technologies (ICT)

Automobile,
aircraft

J.A. Schumpeter
(1883-1950) Electrical
Progress

engineering

Steam-engines

Water wheels

Iron
Bronze tools
tools
Stone
tools
2,000,000bc 3,300bc 1,200bc 1780 1848 1895 1940 1973 20??
TIME
Source: Hilbert and Cairo, 2008; Cristopher Freeman et al. As time goes by, 2001. Schumpeter, (1939). Business Cycles: A Theoretical, Hist., & Stat. Analysis of the Capitalist Process.
Digitalization and its Effects
weeks
5&6

Digitalization
 Digital Footprint
Timeless Time
Death of Distance
Poly-directionality
Network Structure
Network Externalities
Economies of Scale
Media Richness Selection
Exposure Selection
Algorithmification: A.I.
etc.
Day of a digital life of a college student:
http://www.meograph.com/aeleong/155547/characteristics-of-digitization

Digitalization & Amazon:

http://www.meograph.com/rthatcher/154368/digital-
technologymaking-the-world-smaller
Big Data & e-Science
week 7
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqjKTW3wJZ8 ; De Montjoye, et al. (2013). Unique in the Crowd. Scientific Reports, 3.
Frias-Martinez & Virseda (2013). Cell Phone Analytics: Scaling Human Behavior Studies into the Millions. ITID, 9(2), pp. 35–50.
Sources: Bohemia Interactive Simulations, http://youtu.be/G9P9bUTCdpA ; TRANSIMS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN7kq0ITAys ; Epstein, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZZJCIGtVkw

Computational
Social Science
 Globalization &
week 8 Human Development
 Unfinished globalization
global flow of capital, without global mobility or social systems,
with partial global governance
Digital Divide
week 9
 Diffusion on networks

Wilensky, U. (1999). NetLogo. The Center for Connected Learning (CCL) and
Computer-Based Modeling. Retrieved from https://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/
 Telecommunication capacity of countries
Telecom: OECD vrs. the rest of world
(fixed and mobile Internet and telephony CAPACITY per capita)
1001011010101010
1010000011010111
1011010100101011
1010110100101010
100101 1010100111111000
000101 1010111000110101
100001 0100000111000111

50 kbps 700 kbps = 14

--------------
----------
5 kbps = 10 50 kbps
100101
1001 000101
0011 100001

2001 2006

Source: Hilbert, M. (2013), Technological information inequality as an incessantly moving target: The redistribution of info. and
communication capacities between 1986 and 2010. Journal of the Assoc. for Info. Science and Technology.
http://www.martinhilbert.net/TechInfoInequality.pdf
Public Policies &
Private Strategies
week 10
 Digital Strategy Building

2005 2007 2010 2015

Guiding Principles World Summit Long term goals World Summit

Short term Action Plan

Río de Janeiro 2005 Short term Action Plan Short term Action Plan
San Salvador 2008 Lima 2010
Benchmarking
and evaluation Benchmarking Benchmarking
El Salvador and evaluation and evaluation
2007 Peru 2010 Mexico 2015
…and now something completely different:

Study orientation,
learning recommendations,
and course philosophy
 What this course is about and what not:
It is NOT about:
 Testing how “smart” you are
 Teaching you methods or math

It IS about:
• Preparing you to work more effectively and efficiently in a professional setting:
What’s the difference between a junior and a senior professional?
 Filling up the “hard disk” = work = hours (sorry: no shortcut available…)
 Developing an information filter in an information overloaded world
 Knowledge application:
 Making sure the content is correct
 Making sure the content is meaningful to you
 Making sure that the content is actively available
 …just a friendly reminder: input 1 = money

How much does it cost you / your sponsor to take this class?
 …just a friendly reminder: input 1 = money

http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/cost/

http://catalog.ucdavis.edu/ugraded/lsreqt.html

180 / 4 years = 45 credits per year

$ 35,000 per year / 45 credits per year

≈
$ 775 per credit

 $775 * 4 credits = $ 3,100 per 4 credit course!

 more than $ 300 per week!
 …just a friendly reminder: input 1 = money

http://admissions.ucdavis.edu/cost/

http://catalog.ucdavis.edu/ugraded/lsreqt.html

180 / 4 years = 45 credits per year

$ 35,000 per year / 45 credits per year

≈
$ 775 per credit

 $775 * 4 credits = $ 3,100 per 4 credit course!

 more than $ 300 per week!
 …just a friendly reminder: input 2 = time

How much time do you spend per week on a

4 credit class?
 …just a friendly reminder: input 2 = time
http://academicsenate.ucdavis.edu/committees/committee-list/coci/policies-and-procedures.cfm
 Suggestions: how to get most out of your time & money!
Lectures: optimize your time investment into lectures
 Concentrate and listen fully!
 Actively take notes and already check for understanding
 Suggestions: how to get most out of your time & money!
Lectures: optimize your time investment into lectures
 Concentrate and listen fully!
 Actively take notes and already check for understanding

Studying: learning means reviewing

 Review your notes immediately after finishing

www.flickr.com/photos/birthintobeing/11841180046/
www.docstoc.com/docs/136443989/Hebbs-Rule
 Suggestions: how to get most out of your time & money!
Lectures: optimize your time investment into lectures
 Concentrate and listen fully!
 Actively take notes and already check for understanding

Studying: learning means reviewing

 Review your notes immediately after class
 Study groups
 Ask questions on the Q&A platform

Assignments: excellence is not a skill or trait, it’s a habit

 Take them seriously
Rating Characteristics
Full Points The author responds to all aspects of the assigned question in a consistently forceful manner that
is not only thoughtful, but also thought-provoking. The post is focused and coherently integrates
innovative examples with formal concepts. The author does not leave any doubt on how the
judiciously-chosen examples relate to the concepts treated by the question. The post
demonstrates that the author understands the concepts and is able to negotiate their
complexities in a provocative, controlled and insightful manner. The author considers multiple
perspectives when appropriate. The entry reflects in-depth engagement with the topic. The
comment is written eloquently, does not contain grammatical errors or typos, and is written in an
engaging way that opens up new substantial discussions and collective conversation.

Points  The author does not display maturity in sentence variety, grammar, spelling, and usage.
discounted Surface errors are common, which distracts the reader from following the argument.
 The post is not reasonably focused and does not respond fully to all aspects of the question.
 The author mentions examples, but does not explain how they relate to the concepts treated
by the question. Connections between ideas are suggested rather than explained in an
illustrative manner. Though examples and new insights are offered, they are not fully
developed.
 The post simply rehashes previous comments or comments made elsewhere, and displays no
evidence of active and creative engagement with the topic.
 Learn how to read
efficiently!
Normal book page
= 250 words per page
Fine-print essay
= 450 words per page

 450 * 40 pages
= 18,000 words per week

www.forbes.com/sites/brettnelson/2012/06/04/do-you-read-fast-enough-to-be-successful/
 Meaningful tests?
How can a multiple choice test prepare you for the real world?

What questions will NOT appear on the exam:

Even so you do not really know what it means, which one of the following concepts have
you vaguely heard being mentioned in class or saw in one of the readings. Don't stop and
think about it, simply put a check-mark on the concept you remember and move on quickly.
a) Pink elephants
b) Asymptotic equipartition property
c) Technological Determinism
 Suggestions: how to get most out of your time & money!
Lectures: optimize your time investment into lectures
 Concentrate and listen fully!
 Actively take notes and already check for understanding

Studying: learning means reviewing

 Review your notes immediately after class
 Study groups
 Ask questions on the Q&A platform

Assignments: excellence is not a skill or trait, it’s a habit

 Take them seriously