The tensions between the business world and society as a whole are like a flood of predators, and income inequality, AI-induced job cuts, corporate sabotage of unions, intensifying wars, and rampant inflation are just the flashpoints of this flood. We are at the beginning of a global socio-cultural change, driven largely by digital technologies, that has led us to question values, capitalism, and the core of the financial industry.
For example, cryptocurrencies are not simply a technical issue, but a challenge to the existing financial system. The technology behind it provides a platform for the challenge to be heard. Although it may seem like a tirade about capitalism, it is not. The combination of capitalism and democracy is supposed to be wonderful, but capitalism seems to have drifted off track towards authoritarianism. Today, customers in many industries are no longer global people, but shareholders, and businesses aim to provide dividends.
Capitalism and business, fueled by digital technology, are undergoing some interesting changes. Thanks to digital communication technologies, society has a wider range of self-expression, and human society and culture have developed through communication. Historically, revolutionary communication technologies have triggered socio-cultural changes on a global scale. However, for decades, business schools have shied away from the humanities in their thinking, relegating sociology, arts, anthropology, and more to obsolete fields. Ironically, more than a century ago, ** was closely associated with mathematics; Nowadays, the intersection between ** and literature has been greatly reduced.
The business world has reached a point where everything except the exchange of money and economic power is seen as insignificant and questionable. However, we cannot only look at ourselves from the perspective of homo economicus. Culture is the code that human beings have relied on for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years to survive, covering aspects such as social structure, military, governance, and politics; Homo economicus, on the other hand, is only a small part of the human condition and does not reflect human nature in any way.
As the digital age progresses, this tension becomes more apparent. Today's technological revolution and social change can be attributed to a technology invented about 50 years ago – the microchip. Without microchips, artificial intelligence and all other digital technologies would not be possible. Businesses are increasingly relying on technology, not only to replace human workers who need food, shelter and expect to have rights and rights, but also to reduce costs for customers and consumers.
Just as human workers during the Industrial Revolution annoyed industry, consumers also caused headaches for businesses. They expect returns, repairs, and refunds. People get angry when businesses add undesirable chemicals to our food and products or steal our personal data. Communicating with humans is costly, so customer service is seen as an expense rather than an investment.
Amazon is a case in point. They have said that they are always customer-centric. Today, however, for Amazon, customers are the ones that pay to rank higher in search results and ads. Humans are just tools for this dynamic rationalization of new customers. Social ** companies are also in trouble. Although they try to address the toxicity of their platform, their approach is superficial and lacks critical thinking or understanding of the socio-cultural environment. That's part of the reason we're seeing a divergence in social platforms. While Facebook may not be going away, people will start using it in different ways. We're starting to see the fragmentation of social apps.
However, some businesses are gradually waking up to what is happening. For example, those that have shifted to the B Corp model and similar systems. Cooperative business models are becoming increasingly popular, especially in large cities. The European Union** is developing more human-centred laws on data use, artificial intelligence, and privacy. People around the world are rethinking capitalism and developing new models.
Ultimately, culture determines not only how and where technology is adopted, but also the structure of society, including capitalism and business ideas as a whole. As I said, this will cause chaos for a while, but then we will move forward. Now is the most interesting time.