Abstract

Within the general framework of “Internet for social good” “It is all gold what it glitters” proposes an insight on potential impacts and drawbacks due to the ongoing digital transformation. This paper analyses some of the key facts and events that characterised the recent past and contributed to identify the digital transition as the natural evolution of our society. It looks to cyber technology from the humanities side, considering the mid- and long-term impact on society. We are reshaping our “world” based on cyber technology, government, procedures, documents, production, supply chains, general services and more they all are based and rely on cyber technology and platforms. Platforms are mainly private, and the key ones are concentrated in few countries creating a kind of oligarchy.  The “control buttons” of our daily life are often outside the control of our nation state. The double nature of “cyber”, many times it contributes to improve resilience but, because of its pervasive attitude, it can be the target for attacks and generate the “perfect storm”. In the “analogue” world we had different pipelines and “channels” to perform, thanks to different tools and means, our activities, in the cyber world the whole “system” depends on a single “bottleneck”: cyber technology. This single pillar represents a significant risk both in case of malfunction or hackers’ attack and in case of top-down decision to switch off. A plan B in such a situation, if not present, will require long time to be implemented. Social media, global content providers are “training” young generations offering a “unified global” approach this will impact future generations and their cultural identity. The recent pandemic boosted the digital transition, an increasing number of “digitally divided” citizens forced to “go digital” generated a significant impact on cybersecurity. We are surrounded by “critical infrastructures” managed by cyber components that, in case of attacks, may create mayor or minor impact on our daily life. On the social side we are wrapped in our personal cyber-sphere in a kind of symbiotic relation. Citizens experience the world thanks to a cyber device mediated approach; the “new reality” is the one delivered by devices. The cyber-loneliness, one of the foreseeable risks is a kind of addiction to this “parallel life” training users to shift from Real- to Meta-life blurring the border between them. The “new normal”, is really this what we aim to?

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