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EmbracingDigitalHumanismSmarterWithGartner

Embracing Digital Humanism

Digital humanism seeks to enable people to achieve things
they never believed possible or redefine the way their goals
can be achieved
June 5, 2015
Contributor: Christy Pettey (http://blogs.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/author/cpettey/)

By 2020, our planet will be home to 30 billion things with embedded intelligence
combined with nearly 8 billion smart devices. That means by 2020, there will be a
ratio of approximately six intelligent devices/things for every human on the
planet.
In a world of digital business, IT leaders will need to orchestrate all these new
devices, new data streams and new experiences to create value. But what
principles will these IT leaders apply?
The emerging digital world requires human-centric digital leadership. Digital
humanism is the notion that people are the central focus in the manifestation of
digital businesses (http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/digital-business/) and
digital workplaces (http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/digital-workplace/).
Businesses who embrace digital humanism use technology to redefine the way
people achieve their goals and enable people to achieve things not previously
possible.
Digital humanism stands in contrast to digital machinism a view that sees the
minimization of human involvement through automation as the central focus of
technology. This perspective is driven by the belief that technology is valuable
when it allows people to spend less time on mundane, repetitive and inefficient
tasks.
We must recognize the profound impact digital technology is having in the work,
the way we shop, the way we interact, the way we live, said Brian Prentice
(http://www.gartner.com/analyst/25995), research vice president at Gartner.
Businesses should seek to understand how our shared humanity can define the
systems they create and control. Doing so not only allows people a sense of
mastery over technology, but it provides direct benefits to the business that
digital machinist-driven automation simply cant.

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Digital humanism drives innovation. One of the key factors propelling digital
humanism is a common view that digital technology, while having had a
profoundly positive impact on society, has also been the source of much
complexity in our modern lives. More organizations are recognizing that targeting
that complexity through humanized digital systems is a significant source of
innovation opportunity.
Digital humanism is aligned to the emerging workplace. Businesses can
promote workforce effectiveness by accommodating digital lifestyles and
changing work models. Theres a unique opportunity to build new or optimize
existing systems by empowering high-impact workers, said Mr. Prentice. This
is in contrast to the digital machinist, who believes businesses should use
technology to optimize business processes with a limited consideration for the
people who use the systems.
Take this example: a U.S.-based hospital recently needed a system to improve
operational efficiency in its intensive care unit (ICU). Normally, such a system
would have been designed exclusively by hospital administrators and the IT
organization. In this case, the hospital researched how the nursing staff operated
and used those findings to deliver a system that was most efficient. By framing
the system through the lens of its ICU nurses the hospital avoided imposing an
expensive system that would have ultimately failed through lack of use or
reduced productivity.
In 1922, noted physician Havelock Ellis remarked, The greatest task before
civilization at present is to make machines what they ought to be, the slaves,
instead of the masters of men. Nearly 100 years later, businesses are still
contending with this philosophy, perhaps more than ever. Businesses must cast
their vote for digital humanism or risk putting the machine in power.
Gartner clients can also access more information and advice in the report, Digital
Humanism is a Key to Digital Success
(http://www.gartner.com/document/2970619). This is part of the Gartner Special
Report Digital Business: Digital Humanism Makes People Better, Not Technology
Better (http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/digital-business/) which
explains how CIOs and business leaders must integrate human-centric digital
leadership into their overall strategic plans to drive successful digital strategies.

2015 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of
Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates.
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