Reckless Indifference: The Power of Governance to Create or Destroy Value and Trust in Digital Ecosystems

Abstract

As the speed of technology innovation accelerates, so too does the need for effective and ethical governance in digital ecosystems. Looking to modern theories of smart and networked governance, this paper proposes a conceptual governance framework tailored to the dynamic and emergent challenges of these sociotechnical environments. Low and no optionality services involving vulnerable users provide perhaps the most important use-case for such a framework. Through its prism, therefore, we explore how almost half a million social welfare claimants were failed by the governance of Robodebt, the unlawful Australian federal welfare repayments scandal, finding for systemic change in entity self-regulation and statutory oversight.