As this year gets going, how are you feeling about the digital future?

Maybe you’re feeling bleak. You might not think it is going to be as bad as the Matrix or the Terminator but in your mind it’s not far off. After all, 2024 was regularly filled with warnings about the existential threat that digital technology might pose to humanity.

Alternatively, maybe you’re feeling relatively optimistic despite pop culture’s many imagined dystopias. Overall, I’m optimistic but recognise that there are good reasons to be cautious about the development of some technologies too.

I’ve written previously about how one of my favourite metaphors for digital leadership and culture is digital gardening. Part of what I like about it is that it reminds us that the digital future is much more organic than we tend to think it is and that it’s much more about people than we usually remember.

In our Digital leaders programme we share a clip from Tomorrow’s World in 1979 that was predicting that many people would be working from home by 1989. It shows that some of the initial technology existed but for most of us that possibility never materialised.

All of this makes me generally wary to predict the future, but I think two points that I made in October 2023 still hold true:

• Technology develops exponentially but unpredictably
• Technology can only meaningfully develop as fast as people are willing to use it

Technology develops exponentially but unpredictably

This is partly why the pace of technological change can be so exhausting. There are constantly new apps to explore, to adopt, to implement and they keep updating but not always as we’re expecting. Just when we think we know where the buttons are to do something a new version rolls out that moves our favourite features or gets rid of them together.

We see the same thing on a larger scale too. Many people did not predict how much interest and access to Artificial Intelligence would grow in the last few years. At the same time, many technological innovations that people were predicting haven’t been embedded into daily life for example, the metaverse.

Technology can only meaningfully develop as fast as people are willing to use it

Secondly, technology can only meaningfully develop as fast as people are willing to use it. We have choices about what technology we adopt, we can decide what technology adds value to our life and shape our digital future. I find that immensely encouraging because it restores our agency amidst any overwhelm, we might feel.

Of course, we need to remember that the digital future is also shaped by how others adopt technology too. I think that’s potentially the difference between what’s happened with the metaverse where people have struggled to access it and generative AI where people have accessed it much more easily.

What does this mean for us as digital leaders? Firstly, I think it should make us cautious of overpromising what technology can do. Our organisations need us to be discerning and realistic about the potential of digital technology. It can be tempting to be bold in what we say can be achieved but in the long term this undercuts the confidence of our colleagues.

Secondly, we need to remember once again that digital change and transformation is much more about people than it is about technology. We need to engage our colleagues effectively so that they are willing to use the right technology rather than greeting our efforts with a mixture of fatigue and scepticism.

What else should we be bearing in mind as digital leaders as we look to the digital future?