In this table discussion Lycklama kicked off with a column. He compares what is now happening in the field of digitisation with the process of industrialisation at the end of the 19th century: new industries emerging have a major impact on people, the environment and society. Lycklama points to the dangers, as #digitalevervuiling , power concentration of big tech and lack of control over data. That raises the question: “What do we have to do to give a sustainable meaning to our digital world?”

Marleen Stikker has been an advocate of a different interior of the internet for years. She goes into the history of our digital reality and explains what the reverse side of the current order is: “A small number of parties know more and more about companies and governments, and with that they can influence them”. Stikker provides our continent with its own role on the world stage: “If Europe has anything to say in the digital domain, it is values driven.” It refers to safeguarding human rights, privacy, sovereignty and autonomy.

Digital sustainability research
Over the last century, we have managed to reduce the pollution of our physical environment, partly thanks to a coordinated system of supervision and control. We now want to realize the same for our virtual living environment. Don't we all want our children to inherit a healthy, clean and safe digital environment? That is why the time has come to work to reduce 'digital pollution'.

What does The Social Dilemma teach us about digital sustainability?