The advantages of enhanced Internet connectivity will be much constrained unless potential users are sufficiently literate
COMMENT
What about those who are not yet online
One may quibble whether the emerging technological breakthroughs constitute a further step of the third industrial revolution , that is the digital economy , or whether the increased scope and speed that characterise them mark an additional revolution . What is certain is that moving into the era of big data and the Internet of Things has the potential of providing productivity gains and economic transformations that bring us closer to those achieved by the steam engine and electricity .
The increased power and use of information and communications technologies links increased connectivity between people , robots ’ artificial intelligence and other features of emerging technological breakthroughs . ICTs have been with us for some time . Nevertheless , we are far from a world where everyone , everywhere , regardless of status or geography , can reap the benefits of ICTs for development .
Some 4 billion people are not yet online , and fewer still are benefitting from broadband access , partly because connectivity remains unaffordable to large segments of the population , particularly in developing countries . And among those that are active online , the full potential of the Internet is often not seized . This is why world leaders stressed the importance of bridging digital divides and leveraging ICTs in the implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals , including by promoting ICT infrastructure
The advantages of enhanced Internet connectivity will be much constrained unless potential users are sufficiently literate
development and use as reflected in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda .
One element required to seize the full potential of Internet connectivity is upgrading the capability of people to understand the communications that transit via mobile technologies , that is the appliances through which people in developing countries usually access the Internet . The advantages of enhanced Internet connectivity will be much constrained unless potential users are sufficiently literate to exploit the opportunities .
Another element is broadening the scope of what can be done via the Internet . Improved access to digital platforms for data regarding transport , distribution and sales can improve the quality , speed , reliability and cost of bringing goods and services from production sites to markets .
Further , what may be called the sharing economy has led to the emergence of many new services and applications , increasing the scope for ICTs to contribute to sustainable development .
The sharing economy affects modes of consumption by enabling peerto-peer transactions including the shared use of assets , example cars , apartments , parking space , where people get what they need directly from each other , rather than through intermediaries . It provides numerous economic and social benefits , such as lowering the cost of consumption , creating new modalities of knowledge diffusion and enabling greater economic inclusion of women and people in disadvantaged areas .
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