Digitalisation of the economy and its impact on labour markets —

<strong>Digitalisation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>economy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>its</strong> <strong>impact</strong> on labour markets
According to <strong>the</strong> International Data Corporation (IDC), ‘<strong>the</strong> Big Data
technology <strong>and</strong> services market represents a fast-growing multibillion-dollar
worldwide opportunity. In fact, a recent IDC forecast shows that <strong>the</strong> Big Data
technology <strong>and</strong> services market will grow at a 26.4% compound annual growth
rate to $41.5 billion through 2018, or about six times <strong>the</strong> growth rate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
overall information technology market 3 .
The three characteristics <strong>of</strong> Big Data are summed up in what have been called
<strong>the</strong> 3Vs: Volume, Velocity (speed at which <strong>the</strong> data are created), Variety.
Management <strong>of</strong> this data can allow formerly hidden information (for example,
<strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r forecasts on sales) to be revealed 4 . We are thus speaking
about unprecedented opportunities to combine, at virtually lightning speed,
immense stocks <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most highly varied data. This in turn enables, in a wide
range <strong>of</strong> fields, reaction to or anticipation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> behaviour <strong>of</strong> a consumer, a
driver, a salesman <strong>and</strong> – why not? – a worker.
In this way Big Data become intelligent <strong>and</strong> can be turned into ‘learning
machines’. Brynjolfsson <strong>and</strong> McAfee, two fervent supporters <strong>of</strong> this new digital
<strong>economy</strong>, describe a ‘second machine age’ characterised by <strong>the</strong> explosion <strong>of</strong>
digital data <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> robotics market. They tell us that digitalisation <strong>of</strong> almost
everything – documents, information, maps, photos, music, personal data,
social networks, request for information <strong>and</strong> answers to <strong>the</strong>se requests, data
transmitted by all sorts <strong>of</strong> sensors, etc. – is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most important phenom -
ena <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> last few years. As we enter <strong>the</strong> second machine age, digitalisation
continues to exp<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> accelerate, translating into some absolutely stupefying
statistics’ (Brynjolfsson <strong>and</strong> McAfee 2014: 78). The learning machines, fed by
this data, are now beginning to perform tasks that were formerly unimaginable:
diagnosing sicknesses, driving vehicles, drafting press articles, forecasting
epidemics, restoring sight to <strong>the</strong> partially blind, <strong>and</strong> much more.
To take a single example, it is perfectly possible to imagine that soon, at <strong>the</strong>
moment you enter a restaurant your smartphone will show you <strong>the</strong> menu,
suggest what dishes are most likely to give satisfaction depending on <strong>the</strong> time
available for your meal, your budget, your dietary constraints, etc. (Babinet
2015: 55). Similarly, a car rental firm would be able to forecast how many
vehicles need to be available at <strong>the</strong> airport on <strong>the</strong> basis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> vacant
hotel rooms.
Intelligent data shake up <strong>and</strong> overturn retailing procedures, forms <strong>of</strong> corporate
<strong>and</strong> industrial organisation, underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> stakes not only within
companies but also in fields as wide-ranging as health, agriculture, <strong>the</strong>
environment, energy, transport, town planning, in short, all forms <strong>of</strong>
3. https://www.idc.com/prodserv/4Pillars/bigdata
4. According to Babinet, it was <strong>the</strong> interconnection <strong>and</strong> synchronisation <strong>of</strong> financial markets at
<strong>the</strong> beginning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1980s that triggered <strong>the</strong> movement <strong>of</strong> globalisation: once <strong>the</strong> financial
markets were interconnected, <strong>the</strong>y began to dem<strong>and</strong> from governments <strong>the</strong> deregulation <strong>of</strong>
financial trade, free movement <strong>of</strong> capital, etc. (Babinet 2015: 213). This is seen as <strong>the</strong> birth
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first ‘digital platform’, that <strong>of</strong> finance.
WP 2016.02
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