Opinion piece / We must ensure that digital development does not drift to the dark side

Companies’ responsibility strategies rarely extend to digital development, and the impacts of digital services are not seen as part of responsibility in the vast majority of Finnish companies. This is contradictory.

Digitalisation and responsibility are inseparable, as organisations increasingly base their operations on digital solutions. Responsibility means above all actions, and when those actions increasingly take place in a digital environment, it is dangerous to speak of responsibility without linking it to technological development.

Digital development has huge potential to strengthen both good and bad. It can be used to connect people, solve global challenges, improve transparency and generate sustainable innovations. On the other hand, it can increase inequality, carry out cyberattacks and even manipulate information.

Digitalisation has traditionally aimed for efficiency and value creation, but development focused on increasing consumption threatens our planet’s carrying capacity.

“We must understand the power and consequences of digital development.” – Satu Samira Hamed and Marko Saaresto

Companies want to do the right thing, but the pursuit of profit in business can crowd out sustainable choices. So the question is: in which direction do we want to take digital development?

The IT sector’s carbon footprint is already on a par with aviation, but awareness has only recently emerged. At the same time, the IT sector has always been a pioneer in innovations and operating models.

Now companies in the IT sector must also take the lead in responsibility, because those who wield digital power bear enormous responsibility for its direction.

Which direction will we choose?

Responsible digital development means, for example, solutions in which sustainability is built in. It means not just delivering what is ordered, but developing products and services that create genuinely positive impact.

It is a shift in perspective from navel-gazing to ecosystem thinking, where distinctive and sustainable business models and new services can have huge market potential.

When companies’ operations are already largely digitalised, the IT sector cannot expect regulation to drive change from above. What is needed is a shake-up that challenges old ways of thinking.

We must understand the power and consequences of digital development. Will we choose a direction that leads to excessive consumption, inequality and uncontrolled technology, or one that serves humanity, sustainable growth and well-being?

Satu Samira Hamed
founder, Planet Diplomats

Marko Saaresto
chair of the board, Rakettitiede

This article was published in Kauppalehti in March 2025.