When the tail wags the dog

The new edition of the bi-weekly column "Workbench + Change" deals with the questionable separation between the digital and real worlds.

This article is part of the special column: "Workbench & Change"

"In real life or digital?!" This question comes up again and again in conversations, workshops, during ideation and concept development. It was already there when I entered the communications industry 16 years ago . Back then, it was already an expression of a misinterpretation, but its persistence to this day is astonishing. Isn't the digital real?

The separation between the digital and real worlds makes no sense. Because "the digital" isn't an additional space we occasionally enter. Digitalization is part of our lives. Our real lives. Just like the tangible, the physical, and the emotional. We work digitally, get our information digitally, shop digitally, maintain relationships digitally, and make decisions based on our digital experiences.

Digital is reality

I would describe digitalization, and at its current culmination, the integration of artificial intelligence , as an unstoppable wave that essentially challenges us to answer the question: "Do we want to ride it? Or do we want to be swept away by it?" Please allow me this pointed statement; we will come to a more nuanced discussion shortly.

The fact is: we can debate at length whether we like this wave. We can consider it excessive, find it dangerous, or hope that the wind dies down and it gets smaller for a while. But we won't stop the waves. What matters is whether we develop the ability to live with them, or are simply driven, controlled, and buffeted by them.

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No, I'm not suggesting you blindly follow every new technology and trend . But it's about the conscious and proactive engagement that these times demand of us. Precisely because digital systems increasingly influence what information we see, what opinions we encounter, and what offers we take advantage of, we must remain critical. Algorithms preferentially show us what aligns with our previous behavior and consumption habits. You know how it is. You click on one post and get ten similar ones. We become interested in one opinion and soon encounter almost exclusively people or content that shares that opinion. This is how the infamous echo chambers are formed.

It feels good. Everyone nods. Everyone seems to see the world the same way we do. The path to the "rabbit hole" is clear.

What we as human beings are actually looking for – like an invitation to the campfire – is dialogue. Let's be clear about what digital technology enables us to do: engage in dialogue, exchange, and connection. Digital technology is, first and foremost, nothing more than zeros and ones. It's a system that allows people to connect with systems, systems with systems, and people to connect with other people through systems.

Digital technology creates opportunities. What we make of them is up to us.

For you as a decision-maker in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the skilled trades, this means: Don't first ask which additional channel you need to be present on. Instead, consider who you want to engage in conversation with. With customers? With applicants? With other businesses? With society at large?

And then: Listen, respond, become part of the relevant dialogues. What are our customers' concerns? What questions do we hear every day? What do young people really want to know about vocational training? What experiences from our company could help others?

Digitalization becomes valuable where reach translates into relationships. Where we not only transmit, but also listen. Where we are not only visible, but also approachable.

The classic film "Wag the Dog" with Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman bears the telling subtitle: "When the tail wags the dog." The image you now have in your head describes pretty accurately what happens when systems, platforms, and algorithms determine our behavior instead of us using them for what we want.

Digital means dialogue, and the dog should still be able to decide for itself when to wag its tail.

A bi-weekly column by Daniel-John Riedl and Markus Mazur
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