  In the wake of the on-going digital revolution, we will see a dramatic
transformation of our economy and most of our societal institutions. While the
benefits of this transformation can be massive, there are also tremendous risks
to our society. After the automation of many production processes and the
creation of self-driving vehicles, the automation of society is next. This is
moving us to a tipping point and to a crossroads: we must decide between a
society in which the actions are determined in a top-down way and then
implemented by coercion or manipulative technologies (such as personalized ads
and nudging) or a society, in which decisions are taken in a free and
participatory way and mutually coordinated. Modern information and
communication systems (ICT) enable both, but the latter has economic and
strategic benefits. The fundaments of human dignity, autonomous
decision-making, and democracies are shaking, but I believe that they need to
be vigorously defended, as they are not only core principles of livable
societies, but also the basis of greater efficiency and success.
