Tactic: Digital exclusion

Tactic sort: Dark Tactic

Type: Unsustainable Pattern

Category: edge-computing

Tags:

Title

Digital exclusion

Description

Digital exclusion happens when new technology that requires advanced or new infrastructure or devices is not going to be available for all, thus preventing a part of the target end users (either in different countries or inside the same country) to get access to services. The complexity of computing at the edge makes it increasingly difficult for edge providers to plan for and provision resources to meet the ongoing dramatic growth in demand. A strategy often adopted by edge providers is to focus only on a part of the potential users, typically those bringing highest revenues, hence widening the digital divide and contributing to a society that is socially unsustainable.

Participant

edge-provider, government

Related artifact

Technology or specific services requiring specific HW/SW - depending on the type of exclusion

Context

Deployment and normal operation

Feature

Service users are excluded from

Tactic intent

Excluding part of end users because of difficulties to access/use services

Intent measure

Number of people excluded from services (different metrics depending on category)

Countermeasure

Make trade-offs between the benefits of edge computing like reducing latency and energy consumption, and the investments needed to avoid digital exclusion. For example, in healthcare personalized home-care (hence at the edge) is meant to learn the profile of the patient and adapt for usability.

Source

*The Dark Side of Cloud and Edge Computing* by Klervie Toczé, Maël Madon, Muriel Garcia and Patricia Lago (DOI: https://doi.org/10.21428/bf6fb269.9422c084)