Datacracy, a definition of the data economy to come
Table of Contents
“You seek gold in the fields that dry under the sun, but what you need does not grow tall but close to the ground.”After deciphering the strange riddle the priestess gave, Datacris decides to order the planting of legumes instead of wheat. This drastically improves his harvests, as well as trade, since nearby towns demand this crop. This gave him something to think about.
What is datacracy?
Data has become the driving force of a new era in the digital age, much like steam in 1780, electricity in 1870, the space race in 1969, and IoT in 2010.
Datacracy is based on the premise that decisions should be founded on objective data, not intuition or ideology.
Better data means better decisions.
As a society, we face increasingly complex problems, from fighting climate change to improving mobility in our cities. However, instead of basing decisions on opinions or political interests, datacracy invites us to use precise, real-time information, providing a solid foundation for making more efficient and sustainable decisions.
A great distance separates us from the Oracle of Delphi. Still, the reflection Datacris had—the leader who swapped wheat for legumes—is the same one the tech sector has arrived at in the age of Google, the new oracle: it’s not intuition that guides decisions, but information. Delphi’s accuracy in its prophecies stemmed from being the most visited oracle, thus holding the most information. The priestess knew that the towns surrounding Datacris’ polis did not have the land for legumes.
She had that information, and the leader applied this method in his polis.
Access to Data Is a Question of Democracy
Simona Levi, activist and digital rights advocate, reminds us that “data must serve society, not power.”
In a world where large tech corporations control much of the information, datacracy pursues data sovereignty, meaning that citizens and governments should be able to access, analyse, and use the information we generate collectively without depending on third parties with private interests.
Datacracy, Not Dataism
Though “datacracy” and “dataism” are often confused, they represent radically different approaches. datacracy is about using data as a tool for decision-making that benefits society. In contrast, dataism is a philosophical current that considers data as an entity, where human decisions lose weight in favor of what the data “dictates.” In datacracy, transparency, ethics, and human collaboration remain fundamental, while dataism tends to dehumanise decision-making, automate creative processes, and ultimately eliminate certain forms of freedom and agency.
Jason Lanier (author of “If the product is free, the product is you” sentence) alerts us that the risk of falling into dataism can reduce people’s ability to make autonomous decisions and live in freedom. In Alicia Asín’s words: “It’s not that algorithms have an ideology, it’s that they feed back on what we tell them that interests us and, without us realizing it, alter our reality.”
The human factor is what differentiates datacracy from dataism.
The Power of Data for Governments and Cities
Through our IoT solutions, Libelium has seen how data can transform how cities and governments manage their resources. A clear example is using sensors to monitor traffic, air quality, or energy consumption. This information allows governments to optimise urban mobility or reduce emissions and share it with citizens, increasing transparency and public participation.
In an era where big tech manipulates user data, governments need to strengthen their digital sovereignty, ensuring that public data does not fall into the hands of private corporations that might manipulate its interpretation. Well-managed datacracy offers local and national governments a unique opportunity to regain control of their governance, using open data to design fairer and more effective policies.
Imagine a city where sensors are implemented to measure real-time air quality. This tool can improve public health, and the community can use this data to demand specific actions, such as creating more green spaces or improving public transport. In this way, data empowers both citizens and institutions, creating a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement.
Key Aspects of datacracy
- Access to Data: Data should be accessible to all, not just a privileged few.
- Transparency: The collection and use of data must be transparent to avoid abuse.
- Privacy: Protecting people’s privacy when collecting and using data is essential.
- Ethics: Ethics in data use are critical to avoid discrimination and ensure data benefits society.
A New Energy Drives Europe
The value of the data economy in the EU27 is projected to grow from 2.4% of the EU’s GDP in 2018 to 5.8% by 2025, from €301 billion to €829 billion. In this context, the European Commission is pushing a total investment of €4-6 billion in the European Common Data Spaces and a European Federation of Cloud Infrastructure and Services.
We left Datacris with the idea of applying the Oracle of Delphi’s data strategy to his polis—gathering all available information to make the best decisions. He convened a grand council of wise men, inviting not only nobles and wise men but also farmers, artisans, and travellers who had heard stories from other cities. Datacris created a council where everyone could share their experiences, ideas, and observations of what worked in other lands.
He created what we now know as a data space.
European Data Space
Europe’s economic ecosystem is mainly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises. These have advantages: They are more agile than large companies, diversify markets, and are more resilient in times of crisis. However, they also have disadvantages: less traction to drive large business opportunities and fewer resources and technical capabilities.
Europe knows this and wants to remedy it—with datacracy.
The European Union recognises the importance of datacracy and has launched a new data strategy to create a reliable, efficient, and citizen-centred data ecosystem. This strategy seeks to promote collaboration, transparency, and innovation in the use of data to address social and environmental challenges.
The data space is an open and heterogeneous marketplace of providers and consumers of data products and services without dominant actors and disproportionate entry and exit barriers. This marketplace goes far beyond being a simple repository of information. It is a complete environment that includes technological infrastructure, security, governance regulations, advanced services, collaboration mechanisms and monetization systems, all designed to facilitate data efficient and ethical use. These additional components allow data to be stored and generate shared value among all the actors involved securely and sustainably.
Datacris, the leader of the Greek polis, brought together people with different experiences to horizontally exchange (wise men – nobles – peasants) information (data) in a secure and reliable environment with which to generate “artefacts” (ideas, actions, plans, etc.) for the common good.
Datacracy in Action: Sustainability and Resilience
Datacracy is a tool to improve governance and a pathway to a more sustainable and resilient future. As we move towards implementing IoT sensors that monitor real-time aspects like water usage or energy efficiency, we can make more informed decisions that reduce environmental impact and optimise the use of natural resources.
iris360: Datacracy made easy
At Libelium, datacracy isn’t just about optimising processes but a tool for citizen empowerment and fair governance. With an ethical, transparent, and collaborative approach, we can ensure data serves everyone, promoting a more equitable society ready to face future challenges.
For years, we’ve provided hardware and reliable data to businesses and institutions for their business intelligence—in agriculture, cities, industry, water…
We know the importance of data and all it can bring to society and the economy.
iris360 is a scalable, secure data and IoT device management platform that is always up to date with the latest advancements. Thanks to its infrastructure layer, iris360 enables faster and more stable deployment of IoT developments. iris360 responds to our clients’ needs for a single platform containing everything necessary for their sustainability and productivity projects, from data collection via Libelium or third-party IoT devices to data intelligence, connectivity, and visualisation for better decision-making.
iris360 makes Libelium an infrastructure provider: Fiware, AI marketplace, third-party devices, data models, alert and notification system, dashboards and everything necessary to successfully carry out an IoT project from start to finish.
Ultimately, iris360 can connect to European data spaces to provide and acquire data, adding reliability, security, and autonomy to the governance of countries, businesses, and citizens. It is datacracy made simple.
Remember, we have a vision; iris360 is the vehicle to achieve it.
The Impact of datacracy on Decision-Making
Datacracy transforms how businesses and governments make decisions by placing accurate, reliable data at the centre of the process. This transformation offers the possibility of making more informed, efficient, and transparent decisions but also presents privacy, security, and ethics challenges.
Impact on Businesses:
- Strategic Decision-Making: Companies can use data to identify new business opportunities, optimise operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.
- Customer Understanding: datacracy allows companies to better understand customer needs and preferences, enabling them to offer more personalised products and services.
- Innovation: Data analysis can reveal patterns and trends that lead to the developing of new products, services, and business models.
- Compliance and Sustainability: Companies can use datacracy to measure their environmental impact, ensure regulatory compliance, and communicate their sustainability efforts to stakeholders.
Impact on Governments:
- Resource Management: Governments can use data to manage public resources more efficiently, such as water, energy, and transportation.
- Improved Public Services: datacracy enables public administrations to offer more personalised and efficient public services, improving citizens’ quality of life.
- Transparency and Citizen Participation: Governments can use data to increase transparency and encourage citizen participation in decision-making.
- Data-Based Decision-Making: datacracy allows governments to make informed and justified decisions based on objective evidence rather than opinions or ideologies, especially on complex issues like pollution or climate change.
Datacracy: A Shared Future
Like democracy, datacracy requires active participation, transparency, and equal access. Just as Datacris turned to the knowledge of his surroundings to save his polis, today, we must use the information we collectively generate to face global challenges. Greece taught us that the power of the people transforms societies.
In this new era, datacracy is the natural evolution of that ideal: shared decisions guided by knowledge and oriented towards the common good.
Behind the Change.
Beyond the Challenge.
