=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2919/paper27
|storemode=property
|title=Resource-Saving in the Digital Economy
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2919/paper27.pdf
|volume=Vol-2919
|authors=Alexandr Boichenko,Olga Lukinova
}}
==Resource-Saving in the Digital Economy==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2919/paper27.pdf
Resource-Saving in the Digital Economy1
Alexandr Boichenko 1[0000-0003-3113-9446] and Olga Lukinova 2[0000-0002-5576-7749]
1
Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Stremyanny lane 36, 117997 Moscow, Russia
boichenko46@mail.ru
2
V.A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of Russian Academy of Sciences
Profsoyuznaya st., 65, 117997 Moscow, Russia
Abstract. The report examines the importance and transformation of the con-
cept of resource-saving in the digital economy, based on the reasons proposed
by the authors for the emergence and characteristics of the information society,
whose economy is what is now called the digital economy. According to the au-
thors, a rather constructive definition of the information society is proposed, its
main features, including, are briefly considered. determining the meaning of the
concept of "digital economy," the reasons for the transition from industrial so-
ciety to information society. The main risks that may appear during the transi-
tion to the information society are described. The new content of the concept of
"resource-saving" is considered from the point of view of the implementation of
resource-saving as one of the main features of the information society in terms
of production, production facilities (products) and resource-saving infrastruc-
ture. It was emphasized that the target installations of industrial society produc-
tion in the form of mass content, pre-planned restrictions on the life cycle of
manufactured products are in contradiction with the technological capabilities
of the information society. In this regard, it is shown how resource-saving
should strategically develop in terms of production, production facilities (prod-
ucts) and resource-saving infrastructure.
Keywords: Resource-saving, information society, knowledge society, industry
4.0, fifth and sixth technological ways, digital economy.
1 Introduction
Now the world is in the beginning of the tectonic shifts caused by emergence and
development of the information society, which succeeded industrial society.
Definitions of information society it is possible to find much at various authors. Nev-
ertheless the majority of these definitions can be reduced to the definition given in the
glossary of information society (2009) [1] of the Institute of Development of Infor-
mation Society (IDIS) - "Information society is the society which is at a step of de-
velopment of the modern civilization which is characterized by increase in a role of
information and knowledge in life of society; increase of a share of information and
communication technologies, information products and services in gross domestic
product; creation of the global information infrastructure providing information ex-
1
The article was prepared with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Re-
search (grant No. 18-07-01053)
Copyright © 2021 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0
International (CC BY 4.0).
Proceedings of the of the XXIII International Conference "Enterprise Engineering and Knowledge Management"
(EEKM 2020), Moscow, Russia, December 8-9, 2020.
change of people, their access to information and satisfaction of their social and per-
sonal requirements".
The terms which are synonyms of the concept either information society» or its any
part are rather often used. These are the terms "society of knowledge", "digital econ-
omy", "industry of knowledge", "industry 4.0", the fifth and sixth technological ways,
digital globalization, etc.
Despite wide circulation and use of the concepts given above, there is practically no
more or less constructive definition the concept of information society giving refer-
ence points in understanding of what it has to be and as it has to develop.
The present work proposes, according to the authors, a rather constructive definition
of the information society, briefly considered its main features, including those defin-
ing the digital economy and the reasons for the transition from industrial society to
information society.
The main features of the information society identify the main risks that may arise in
the transition to the information society.
On the basis of the proposed definition of the information society and its peculiarities,
the new content of the concept of "resource-saving" from the point of view of the
implementation of resource-saving as one of the main features of the information
society in terms of production, production facilities (products) and resource-saving
infrastructure was considered.
2 Definition of information society, cause and main features
The traditional philosophy can give the answer to a question of the nature of infor-
mation society. Civilization eras are defined by means of production and determined
by them the production and social relations. It means that in information society the
information and communication technologies (ICT) become fixed assets of produc-
tion. Based on the analysis of various sources it is possible to draw a conclusion that
concerning ICT as means of production there is already an implicit understanding, the
question of the corresponding production and social relations is not put yet, they ob-
viously and accurately keep lines of industrial society. At the same level, there is also
an existing regulatory framework of life of society. It is possible to assume that the
accruing disproportion of these questions is one of the reasons of the crisis existing
now in highly developed countries.
Interesting question is also the question of the transition reasons from industrial to
information society. The following – if during all eras can be the answer to this ques-
tion, including industrial, the main moment in development of means of production
was fight for mass character of production and resources (see Thomas Malthus's theo-
ry and his theory of the population), then transition to information society is caused,
first of all, by need of targeting of production for the purpose of economy of re-
sources.
Production lines are increasingly becoming integrated automated production sites,
robots. All types of production control, both technological control and administrative
control are also automated.
This approach to production lines requires a major transformation of existing produc-
tion business processes in specific enterprises (business process reengineering).
Since the components of such production lines must communicate with each other in
the process of operation, their design takes an approach called the industrial Internet
of Things.
Thus, it can be said that ideally nothing should be done without the order of a particu-
lar consumer.
Such conclusion can be drawn based on overproduction crises in developed countries
last century and unreasonable development of marketing for sale of what is
addressless made. Only development of means of production based on ICT, which, in
turn, are based on the software, allows creating the flexible reconstructed production
structures adapted to the changing address requirements.
The targeting of production (while maintaining the possibility of mass produc-
tion characteristic of industrial society) is the main target function in the trans-
formation of industrial economy into digital economy. Increasing productivity,
increasing gross domestic product, increasing production efficiency, while important,
are not the main target function of the digital economy
In addition to the features of the information society discussed above, some other
characteristics of the information society that were absent from the industrial society
can be distinguished.
The next main feature of the information society is the fact that ICT is increasingly
embedded in production facilities and their functionality is increasingly based on
them.
This feature of information society, as well as previous, is also connected with
need of economy of natural resources.
The main consideration to realize this feature is that in order to save natural
resources it is necessary to extend the life cycle of the material part of the prod-
uct as long as possible, and the development of specific products is increasingly
focused on the development of software that determines the functionality of the
product.
This consideration conflicts with existing practices in product lifecycle management
(PLM) to make it as short as possible to offer consumers new material versions of the
same product as often as possible.
This approach, as well as for the means of production, is closely related to the devel-
opment of one of the most predictable breakthrough directions in the development of
information technologies - the Internet of Things (IoT).
The Internet of things can be considered a basic concept of approach a concept Soft-
ware Intensive Systems, SIS. By the definition given in [2], any product or service
which functionality significantly depends on the software can be the Software Inten-
sive System or is even defined by it. It is specified in the same work that the method-
ology according to which the Software Intensive is measured percentage of costs of
researches and development of the corresponding software was developed for eco-
nomic estimates.
The architecture and the principles of creation of such systems are considered in the
document IEEE 1471-2000 Recommended Practice for Architecture Description of
Software-Intensive Systems [3]. Now based on the latest version of this standard from
which, by the way, the concept SIS, IEEE disappeared develops the standard for ar-
chitecture of IoT, but the draft of the standard is not published in open access yet.
The following very important feature of modern ICT is their penetration into social
life. Moreover, their penetration happens so deeply that some authors predict penetra-
tion of information technologies on genetic level.
Modern smartphones, which are actually quite powerful wearable computers, provide
an unprecedented level of communication and accessibility in mobile mode to a wide
range of information services, information resources, solve many daily tasks.
This feature is a separate large topic, currently devoted to a large number of studies,
both the positive aspects of broad social computerization and the risks it carries.
One more feature of information technologies is the so-called "second coming of
Gutenberg" - global availability of information and knowledge thanks to their elec-
tronic form. This feature is very important for all the lines of information society stat-
ed above, especially education and science.
All these features of information society, in our opinion, will cause distinctive fea-
tures, development and risks of both information society and its economy are digital
economy.
Therefore, in quality as basic goal setting of digital economy it is possible to consider
the maximum personification of production and other opportunities of economy of
resources due to use of ICT. At the same time, the possibility of mass character of
production, which is characteristic of industrial society, has to remain.
3 Risks of information society
As for risks. The most global risk can be considered the labor unemployment growing
in process of introduction at ICT. So, according to McKinsey Institute by 2055 unem-
ployment will reach about 50 percent of all labor population (plus or minus 20 years
depending on progress of artificial intelligence) [4]. Such time spread (actually, it can
be significantly more) is connected with discrepancy of prospects of development of
artificial intelligence, which is noted by various authors.
In addition, according to MсKinsey Global Institute today's potential of automation in
the USA already allows to automate the following part of works (in %) presented in
table. 1.
Table 1. Potential of automation of 2017
Automation potential
What part of works can be automated the existing technologies %
Hotel and restaurant business 75
Production of minerals 63
Technologies, media, telecommunications 51
Construction 49
Art, entertainments 47
Retail, wholesale trade, transportation 42
Service trade 40
Finance and insurance 37
Health care and social service 36
Education 35
Public service 31
Production 30
From here the global risk follows – how to support the people who were left without
work and what they will be engaged in. The work for most people almost all the histo-
ry of humankind was sacral.
At present, as mentioned above, there are no social and production models that sup-
port both the transition period (in the sense of transformation of the labor market and
the competences required by it [6]) and the future period of broad automation of pro-
duction processes.
The issues of ensuring the lives of people left unemployed (unconditional basic in-
come), financial aspects of labor transformation, connection of these issues with digi-
tal transformation of production have not yet been worked out.
The following global risk is connected with production relations, with their main issue
– who will possess the automated means of production? The solution of the matter
can define not digital inequality, but inequality in a level of living.
No have the issues of linking population forecasts, life expectancy growth and the
active part of it to global digital transformation been addressed.
The development of the information society and the digital economy is closely linked
to the development of ICT. At the same time, ICT needs to be understood in two as-
pects - as an independent industry with its science, engineering, production, economy
and as a basis for transformation of almost all areas of human activity.
ICT development itself also carries some technological risks.
In March 2018, the largest Russian provider of digital services and services
Rostelecom submitted for expert discussion the list of perspective through technolo-
gies of work with data consisting of 25 technologies, which form five groups [5].
Technologies of artificial intelligence, which are correlated with many other technol-
ogies, including through are specified as one of basic through technologies in many
documents and many experts. For artificial intelligence many experts connect its de-
velopment with various forecasts and risks, including social. Some of experts predict
on this base significant change of labor market – disappearance of many professions,
emergence new, first of all, connected with maintenance and service of robotic and
automated manufacture. The so-called "point of singularity" in which achievement
possibilities of artificial intelligence will surpass natural what many risks are connect-
ed with is actively discussed. Some experts believe that the singularity point already
came or will come soon, others believe that this point in process of development of
artificial intelligence will be removed as the horizon.
Considering all questions concerning development of digital economy it is somehow
forgotten that all today's computers realizing information technologies still are based
on von Neumann's architecture, i.e., in fact are an electronic arithmometer. Really, on
an electronic arithmometer, it is possible to implement difficult programs, but people
(directors of tasks, developer of an algorithm, programmers) create these programs.
Those programs, which are already able to create computers, use the expert rules,
which are also determined by people. In other words, it is possible to tell that modern
computers have no own subjectivity (free will), people bring this subjectivity. We do
not know on what algorithms the brain works, but we are going to create artificial
intelligence.
It is possible to assume that development of robotics and artificial intelligence will go
two ways. The first, actively developing now, will concern robotics and the artificial
intelligence, which are based on today's computers, which do not have subjectivity.
The second way is a creation of various systems (on the basis of computers which are
absent yet and which will work on other algorithms similar to a brain) having artifi-
cial intelligence, subjectivity can accelerate emergence of the risks menacing to the
existence of mankind about which Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and many others
spoke. The horizons of the second way are still very foggy.
In addition to the above-mentioned IoT and artificial intelligence technologies, a
number of other breakthrough or end-to-end technologies are identified - cloud com-
puting [7], distributed registry technologies, big data technologies, quantum compu-
ting, virtual and augmented reality technologies, robotics, and a number of other in-
formation technologies. All these technologies have their own characteristics, their
own risks of their application and are in different degrees of maturity. Analysis of
end-to-end technologies of the digital economy is presented in the electronic journal
TADVISOR [8].
The dynamics of the emergence and development of information technologies for a
number of years is investigated and published by Gartner (Gartner Hype Cycle for
Emerging Technologies).
From the review of this schedule for 2019 [9], it can be seen that almost all the tech-
nologies depicted have yet reached the maturity stage and are located at the stage of
overestimated user expectations or at the stage of disappointment.
4. Resource saving. Production, features of products, resource-saving infrastruc-
ture
The concept of resource saving is now quite widely used both in the practical aspect
and in the development of methods and means of resource saving. There are many
standards and other regulations related to resource conservation.
One of these Russian standards (GOST R 52104-2003. Resource-saving. Terms and
Definitions) defines resource conservation as follows.
"Organizational, economic, technical, scientific, practical and information activities,
methods, processes, a set of organizational and technical measures and measures that
accompany all stages of the life cycle of objects and are aimed at the rational use and
economical use of resources".
This definition, as well as other normative documents and existing practice, in our
opinion, do not determine the essence of resource saving as the main feature of the
transformation of industrial society into information.
Based on the above-mentioned features of the information society and its digital
economy, we will consider how the targeting of production will affect on the structure
and functionality of enterprises, on the need to maximize the life cycle of the material
part of products and on the resource-saving infrastructure.
The main changes in resource-saving in production (enterprise) from the point of
view of realization of production targeting can occur in the following directions.
CRM (Custom Relationship Management). Currently, CRM at the enterprise is creat-
ed mainly to increase sales, optimize marketing and improve customer service by
preserving customer information and history of relationships with them, establishing
and improving business processes and subsequent analysis of results.
The building of modern CRM is based on a model of interaction based on the theory
that the center of the entire business philosophy is the client, and the main areas of the
company's activity are measures to ensure effective marketing, sales and customer
service. Supporting these business goals includes collecting, storing and analyzing
information about consumers, suppliers, partners, as well as about the company's
internal processes. Features to support these business goals include sales, marketing,
and consumer support.
When moving to production targeting, CRM should provide input for the creation of
flexible industries that are tailored to the needs of specific consumers, excluding mar-
keting procedures if possible. Thus, CRM will be a system of orders and logistics of
finished products.
Production itself should be based on the ideology of IIoT (Industrial Internet of
Things), which, in turn, should be based on the SIS concept discussed above. The
purpose of the IIoT is to create flexible integrated production lines.
When creating finished products (production objects), the IoT and SIS approaches
should also be used. The main consideration for realizing this feature is that in order
to save natural resources, it is necessary to extend the life cycle of the material part of
the product (PLM) as long as possible, and the development of specific products is
increasingly focused on the development of software that determines the functionality
of the product.
Инфраструктура ресурсосбережения должна представлять собой программные
системы (может быть в рамках отраслевого управления), учитывающие вопросы
демографии, уровни потребления, управления запасами ресурсов и их потреб-
ления, вопросы создания и использования возобновляемых ресурсов и др.
4 Conclusion
Based on the global importance of information technologies as a basis for the digital
transformation of all spheres of society discussed above, two circumstances seem
important.
First, information technology should be considered in two aspects - as an independent
industry of production and as the main tool for digital transformation of all other sec-
tors of the digital economy.
Secondly, due to this importance of information technologies, fundamental scientific
research of information processes in nature, technology, and society should be signifi-
cantly strengthened.
The proposed hypothesis about the reason for the transition from industrial society to
information society, which consists in the need to save natural resources and, as a
result, the targeting of production can be transformed in the future. This transfor-
mation can take place as science develops and resources are created through it. In
addition, demographic and social trends can influence the transformation of this hy-
pothesis.
The successful development of both the information society as a whole and its econ-
omy requires high-level interdisciplinary studies of ongoing transformations, the pur-
pose of which may be to develop formalized ideas of the relationship between re-
source management, demography, consumption, health, life expectancy growth, life
satisfaction and other social processes.
But this is all in the future. It is now clear that most of today's conflicts stem from a
struggle for resources. In any case, the transition to global digitalization is inevitable,
since only on its basis can flexible production structures be created that ensure the
further development of mankind.
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