Happy birthday NetMission Digest! As we celebrate our first anniversary of this digital empowerment initiative to make tech public policies more accessible to youth and all walks of life, let’s ponder over one version of a desired common future and the role of digital transformation.
Society 5.0
A concept first brought forward almost 10 years ago by the Japanese Cabinet Office to envision a “Super Smart Society” against the backdrop of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Society 5.0 has been gaining much traction post-COVID and international adoption in the past months.
As the fusion of physical, digital, and biological realms intensifies, Society 5.0 shifts the spotlight (back) onto “people” across all aspects of development and innovation. Contrary to 4IR which zooms in on economic and technological advancement, Society 5.0 emphasizes the values of a human-centric society for a sustainable and resilient society that ensures human safety, security, and diverse wellbeing. The ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) must be taken into account while adopting new technologies and undergoing digital transformations.
The Domestic Vision: A Human-Centered AI Japan
The Government of Japan posited this concept by the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo with the initial aim of addressing domestic socio-economic stagnation. Considering the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to “contribute significantly to the realization of Society 5.0” and to “rescue society from” various socio-economic problems, Abe instructed the establishment of the “Strategic Council for AI Technology” in 2016 to promote the R&D and use/industrialization of AI via private-public-academia partnerships. In recognition of the importance of open innovation and (efficient) utilization of data, the Council also underscored the use of AI for the public good of humanity as a whole by respecting the three fundamental values: (1) Dignity, (2) Diversity & Inclusion and (3) Sustainability.
In 2019, the cabinet office issued 7(+1) Social Principles of Human-Centric AI and announced the establishment of a sub-council to realize an AI-ready society. The paper concluded with the vision to bring the international community on board to shape an AI-ready society worldwide by also aligning Society 5.0 with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The International Appeal: Trusted Data Flow for Digital Transformation
Then-Prime Minister Abe presented his vision for “Society 5.0” to the global stage at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2019 and was further promoted amongst the Group of 20 (G20) nations throughout Japan’s 2019 chairmanship year. Coining the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) regime in his Davos special address as the discussion driver of Society 5.0, Osaka G20 was made the Summit that commenced the discussion on an international order on data governance.
DFFT acknowledges that while cross-border data flows are key to economic growth and social wellbeing, jurisdictional interoperability and discrepancies of data processing and governance impact the overall digital development (See also: ICT4D). The framework calls for international cooperation and harmonization of data governance to facilitate cross-border data transfers with adequate trust. As Society 5.0 stresses addressing societal challenges including those that would be induced by digital transformation itself, a large part of diplomatic engagement on DFFT spent time on ironing out regulatory practices to safeguard issues such as intellectual property rights (IPR), data protection, privacy, security and eSafety for an interoperable human-centric data governance.
Following the endorsement of DFFT in the 2019 G20 leaders’ communiqué and Trade and Digital Economy Ministerial Statement (alongside recognizing a human-centered AI), discussions on DFFT and the broader Society 5.0 vision were recorded in G7 and OECD meetings and along the periphery of the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce with varied progress.
Society 5.0 and DFFT principles were also manifested in digital trade and economic partnership agreements involving Japan, including Economic Partnership Agreements respectively with the UK and the EU, as well as with 14 other Asia Pacific economies via the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). During the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Kyoto 2023, the multi-stakeholder-involved and human-centered governance of data and the Internet were widely discussed, with the Kyoto IGF Messages underscoring trusted and secure ways to share data across borders – with reference to DFFT as a framing concept.
The Global Proliferation: One Reassuring Governance Framework in One Uncertain Time
As COVID-19 triggered and expedited digital adoption and digitalization across industries and societies by several years, the concept of Society 5.0 is espoused as a reassuring proposition that prioritizes human and people’s wellbeing at a time full of uncertainties. With Society 5.0’s strategic alignment with the UN global agenda and Japan’s assertion of its global influence, its principles were referenced and adopted in governance frameworks for digital transformation to address respective local social challenges across the globe.
In particular, the concept has become more prevalent across ASEAN in recent months – in part could be attributed to the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership upgraded in 2023 and the ASEAN-Japan Centre 5.0 strategies set forth in 2022. In the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) launched the “Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities Program” in November 2023 to transform 80 local government units towards Society 5.0. In the case of Indonesia, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs announced in February 2023 strategies to prepare for Society 5.0. As for Singapore, its Smart Nation Initiative was revamped with a 2.0 version last month to bolster trust, growth and community to improve Singaporean’s lives through technology. The concept of Society 5.0 was also attributed to various recent digital economic and partnership agreements.
Meanwhile, Malaysia as an early adopter, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) unveiled “Malaysia 5.0” in 2020 with the vision to establish the nation as the Heart of Digital ASEAN. As a national 4IR policy framework, Malaysia 5.0 was asserted as key to “a more sustainable and circular economy” for all citizens’ greater wellbeing.
In other parts of Asia, Sri Lanka held its annual National Information Technology Conference (NITC) in July 2024 centering around Society 5.0. Sri Lanka’s version of Society 5.0 was accentuated and called for more exchanges with the Japanese government and organizations. Another early adopter, India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in 2018 to harness the complementarities and “enable AI and the emerging technology ecosystem for societal benefits”. Such a human-centric vision was also brought to the forefront in the 2023 G20 India Chairmanship year.
Other parts of the world, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are also charting their ways to Society 5.0. The European Commission, in particular, tabled “Industry 5.0” in 2022 to approach the bloc’s economic and societal transition through sustainable, resilient, human-centric values. With the final report of the Industry 5.0 Community of Practice (CoP 5.0) Pilot Phase published last month, a CoP 5.0 Work Plan is on the horizon for 2025.
Epilogue
Just as with any other ideologies, positing the Society 5.0 concept as the desired future is not without skepticism. Putting its efficacy in question, Japan’s challenges associated with its aging society persist, such as using technology to address the rising senior health and nursing care spending, despite overcoming this and other “chronic social issues” is Japan’s original intent of advancing the “Society 5.0” vision.
There are also criticisms extended from Germany’s Industrie 4.0 paradigm, upon which the Society 5.0 concept is based. For example, despite human values being spotlighted in realizing Society 5.0, the prominence of how science, technology and innovation (plus productivity) are perceived as determinants in “the balance of economic advancement and resolving social problems” could still undervalue “the less-rational human touch” and other non-quantifiable factors (See also: technological determinism). The discussion of Society 5.0 also seemingly lacks direct considerations of the environment/ecological dimension. We should also be wary of how Society 5.0 is derived from an industrial process, especially when such a concept is adopted as a blueprint for broader national (digitalization) strategies and smart city development.
While not being the panacea to all challenges for our Internet and common future, Society 5.0 presents an opportunity to reimagine the relationship between technology and society and how technology mediates the interactions between individuals and societies.
Specifically in the context of Internet governance, Society 5.0 principles emphasizing the role of “human” not only shed light on human intelligence amidst the rise of AI and the ever-evolving landscape; but more importantly, it accentuates inclusivity – striving to leave no one behind along the journeys of digital transformation and societal progression, as well as upholding the multistakeholder model to involve people from all walks of life meaningfully in Internet policy-making processes. Other than the wide range of government-industry-academia collaborations encouraged in the Society 5.0 White Paper by the Japanese Government, the role of civil tech and other bottom-up advancement should not be overlooked, especially with their efficiency and efficacy in addressing societal issues in an economical manner.
As per IGF Kyoto 2023, one of the messages was calling on full participation of stakeholders especially from developing countries in DFFT discussions to “achieve a balanced approach in which data works for people and the planet”. Looking ahead to this year’s Internet Governance Forum in a few weeks’ time, it is crucial to living up to the overarching theme of “Building our Multistakeholder Digital Future” as we chart a human-centered society and the Internet We Want.
What We Are Reading
Now that you know about Society 5.0 and its prominence in shaping digital governance, read this report to understand Youth Perspectives on Technology-Informed Societal Leadership towards Society 5.0 conducted by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). You may also gain insights reading How Japan is Preparing Students for Society 5.0 by the Foreign Policy magazine to equip yourself for our digital future.
Written by Kenneth Leung (Reviewed by Nawal Munir Ahmad)