Page 69 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution

regulatory and legislative ecosystem that can produce more resilient

frameworks. This approach could be enhanced by creating more space for
stillness in order to reflect on important decisions. The challenge is to make
this deliberation far more productive than is currently the case, infused with
foresight to create maximum space for innovation to emerge.

In summary, in a world where essential public functions, social
communication and personal information migrate to digital platforms,

governments – in collaboration with business and civil society – need to
create the rules, checks and balances to maintain justice, competitiveness,
fairness, inclusive intellectual property, safety and reliability.

Two conceptual approaches exist. In the first, everything that is not
explicitly forbidden is allowed. In the second, everything that is not

explicitly allowed is forbidden. Governments must blend these approaches.
They have to learn to collaborate and adapt, while ensuring that the human
being remains at the centre of all decisions. This is the challenge for
governments, which have never been more necessary than in this fourth
industrial revolution: they must let innovation flourish, while minimizing

risks.

To achieve this, governments will need to engage citizens more effectively
and conduct policy experiments that allow for learning and adaptation. Both
of these tasks mean that governments and citizens alike must rethink their
respective roles and how they interact with one another, simultaneously

raising expectations while explicitly acknowledging the need to incorporate
multiple perspectives and allow for failure and missteps along the way.

Box C: Agile Governance Principles in an Age of Disruption

Job market

Digital technologies and global communication infrastructure significantly
change the traditional concepts of work and pay, enabling the emergence of
new types of jobs that are extremely flexible and inherently transient (the
so-called on-demand economy). While these new jobs allow for people to

enjoy more flexible working hours and might unleash a whole new wave of
innovation in the job marketplace, they also raise important concerns with

69