IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020 - 20

systems change ([10], see also [13],
[14]). The digital revolution demon-
strates the transformative power
of these middle-range levers, as it
radically alters information flows
and controls throughout society and

It is not clear where these digital
disruptions will lead humanity.

drives ongoing transformations in
economic, governance, and cogni-
tive systems. The digital revolution
has also created opportunities to
push on the third and most influen-
tial set of levers of system change
highlighted by Meadows: rules, power
structures, and mindsets.
Rules include both formal laws
and regulations imposed by gov-
ernments and informal social and
cultural norms that reinforce car-
bon-intensive lifestyles [15]. Power
refers to who makes the political
and economic decisions that steer
economic development patterns.
Mindsets encompass the value

systems, worldviews, and beliefs
that underly human behaviors.
Changing mindsets is the most
influential leverage point, but it
is among the most difficult levers
to push, especially when tackling such
wicked systemic challenges
as the climate crisis.

mative power of the digital age
over half a century ago.
The D^2S analysis started with
the question: what are the systems
that sustain our unsustainabil-
ity? In particular, what are the sys-
tems that are keeping society on a
carbon-intensive and increasingly
vulnerable development path? Ini-
tially, we explored these questions
through an online consultation with
almost 200 experts from around the
world using Futures CoLab (www
.futurescolab.org), a collaboration
of Future Earth and the M.I.T. Cen-
ter for Collective Intelligence. The
participants emphasized the impor-
tance of the informal rules, power
structures, and mindsets that are
embedded within three dominant
social systems: economic, gover-
nance, and cognitive.
The D^2S team then explored how
existing digital capabilities are dis-
rupting the rules, power structures,
and mindsets within these three
so--cial systems. We identified four key
"digital disruptors" (see Figure 2) -
unprecedented transparency, in--
telligent systems, mass collabora-
tion, and mixed reality - that are
enabling and scaling systems change
across current economic, gover-
nance, and cognitive systems.
In each of the three key social
systems, economic, governance,
and cognitive, the D^2S research
team identified levers of systems
change through which the four digital
disruptors are shifting existing rules,
power structures, and mindsets.
For each lever, we explored both the
risks and the potential for positive
transformative impacts. We also
asked what it would take to steer and
scale each lever to drive positive,
systemic changes. From this analy-
sis, we identified priority research
questions and innovation needs for
driving transformative change in
each social system. In the following
sections, we describe the digitally

Building the D^2S
Agenda
We developed the D^2S
Agenda to identify oppor-
tunities created by the
digital age to push the
most influential leverage
points for systems change. Many
studies have explored how big
data, AI, and other digital technol-
ogies can be used to reduce emis-
sions or increase climate resilience
in any given sector [e.g., [16], [17].)
In contrast, our team explored
how digital transformations are driv-
ing changes in the social systems
underpinning all carbon-inten-
sive sectors. The premise of the
D^2S Agenda is captured well by
the aphorism "We shape our tools,
and thereafter our tools shape us,"
often attributed to the philosopher
and media theorist, Marshall McLu-
han, who foresaw the tra nsfor-

Rules, Power,
and Mindsets
Information
Flows and Controls
Parameters and Structures

The
System

FIGURE 1. Leverage points for systems change. In 1999, Donella Meadows identified
12 leverage points to bring about change in a complex system (adapted from [10]).
In the D^2S Agenda, these were grouped into three main categories: 1) physical and
institutional parameters and structures; 2) information flows and controls; and 3) rules,
power structures and dynamics, and mindsets.

20

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JUNE 2020
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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020
