The Search for Smartness in Working, Living and Organising: Beyond the 'Technomagic': Editorial for Special Issue of Information Systems Frontiers

摘要

The significant advancement in the fields of electronics and computer science has produced innovation in devices and systems. For example, the miniaturisation of electronic components and devices combined with the evolution of wireless distributed networks have significantly enabled mobility and the connectivity of devices. Also, advances in sensor technologies have allowed ubiquitous objects to measure performance and transmit information regarding their functional state and their operating environment in a more reliable and low-cost way. These technologies enabled the development of mobile devices and wearable electronics. In addition, Web 2.0, fast-speed computing and efficient data storage have facilitated the emergence of new generation of data analytics and machine learning. Taken together, these plethora of new advanced technologies offer numerous possibilities and pitfalls for users. It is argued that they will change our world and whatever we do at work, home, leisure and even during times of crisis (Elbanna et al. 2019; Hughes et al. 2019; Ismagilova et al. 2019a, b; Kim et al. 2016; Papagiannidis and Marikyan 2019; Rana et al. 2019; Bunker et al. 2019b; Stieglitz et al. 2018). One of the changes receiving currency is the capability of these technologies to be 'smart' and to make us 'smart'. While the the term 'smart' is used vaguely by management and in the corridors of policy makers, computer scientists typically associate it with the use of the internet, connected devices, embedded sensors and machine learning. In this special issue, we widen the definition of 'smart' from a narrow technically oriented view to a wider transformatory sociotechnical view that puts use, impact and outcomes at the heart of achieving smartness in working, living and organising. Smart here is defined as 'the intelligent and rational use of resources to work, organise and live efficiently and effectively, healthily and happily, to the benefits of individuals, society, humankind and planet earth'.