Society 5.0: Humans in a digital world

Prof Alta van der Merwe

The concept of Society 5.0 was first introduced in Japan. It formed part of the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan, and follows the hunting society (Society 1.0), agricultural society (Society 2.0), industrial society (Society 3.0) and information society (Society 4.0). The Cabinet Office of Japan defines Society 5.0 as “a humancentered society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space”.

Bruno Salgues, in his book titled Society 5.0: Industry of the future, technologies, methods and tools (published in 2018), urges that more research needs to be conducted to understand the situation of humans in a digital world. He argues that humans are defined by different needs, and that digital technology allows one to respond to the need for knowledge if one knows how to make use of the tools of the digital world.

According to Salgues, the first and foremost strength in the digital world is access to information. Humans now have access to information as and when needed, with the only limitation being the applicability of the information provided by search engines. Researchers are constantly improving context-relevant searches using techniques such as frequency for relevance where search engines provide information according to popularity. Access to information also links to opportunities for skills training where humans now not only have access to unlimited online courses, but institutions are constantly renewing curricula to be more relevant in a changing world.

A key weakness experienced in the digital world is information overload. We often find ourselves asking what we should do next, what we should look at next, what information is the most important and how to distinguish what to spend time on. Information overload – also known as infobesity – is where one struggles to make decisions since there is too much information pertaining to an issue. As a result of access to information across national boundaries, the influence of the nation states is also disappearing and being reduced. A final concern is the time humans spend on media, particularly as new phenomena such as gamefication and social media addiction emerge.

One of the biggest concerns in a changing world is the threat of the manipulation of information for propaganda purposes. Fake news is a reality and one cannot always believe what one reads on many of the forums on the internet. A lot of attention is given to the fact that some of the larger platforms do not respect the use of personal information for personal use. Mail platforms use special software to protect our mailboxes from overflowing with offers based on searches done within our browsers. There is a blur between the real world and the virtual world. We often find ourselves engaged for hours in activities in the virtual world. The gaming world, in particular, has explored this phenomenon to create software that engages one in real-world activities, but focuses on participation through activities in the virtual world. Information overload may cause a threat as we are so focused on what is out there, that we do not distinguish between information and knowledge. Knowledge has a greater focus on understanding, while information is just data. Obtaining information does not necessarily mean that there is a level of understanding of the meaning of the information. Lastly, in the digital world, reproduction is very easy, posing a threat to existing businesses in terms of the production of books, for example, where new business models need to be considered to still be economically feasible.

The digital world has created many opportunities, both in the business and in our personal worlds. In many sectors, such as the health sector, the digitisation and use of technology have given us access to a mass of information not previously available. We are also now able to use this information more effectively and educate ourselves in a more effective and efficient way. Access to information is no longer a big obstacle. The challenge rather lies in making sense of information and presenting it in such a way that it is accessible.

We are living in a fast-changing world. Technologies are being used in a more innovative manner and business models need to change, be agile and make provision for all the disruptors, while still conducting business on a daily basis. Humans need to adapt to the digital world, both at work and at home. We need to understand how living in the digital age will impact on us. It is therefore necessary for humans to be aware of the change, to look at the opportunities, and to use these opportunities to educate themselves and prepare for digital change.

Cabinet Office of Japan, 2020. Society 5.0. https:// www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/ society5_0/index.html.

Salgues, B., 2018. Society 5.0: Industry of the future, technologies, methods and tools, Wiley.