Philosophy of Digital Man and Digital Society - 2024

Management of the Interaction Between the Digital Individual and Digital Society as Complex Social Systems

The Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of the Interaction between the Digital Individual and Digital Society in the Context of the Synergistic Paradigm

In addressing the management of the interaction between the digital individual and digital society as complex social systems, significant attention must be given to forecasting drift and creating certain preconditions aimed at minimizing the likelihood of the system entering undesirable zones of phase space, such as cataclysms, revolutions, catastrophes, and crises, which we observe in various countries.

Drift may be induced not only by external forces but also by internal tensions arising from changes in the state of elements or their interrelations, parameters, and fluctuations. All these factors delineate the configuration of the management field governing the interaction between the digital individual and digital society within a particular phase space: 1) the development of this interaction should proceed along the path of least dissipation (scattering of forces); 2) it should transition to an optimal state with minimal loss of energy; 3) it should determine the most likely direction of drift and the evolution of the system; 4) it should characterize the behavior of the system under given internal and external conditions of its existence; 5) it should acknowledge the absence of determinism in the system, as the actual trajectory of development is not only subject to fluctuations but also traverses critical bifurcation points. Thus, the creode reflects the system's behavior under specified internal and external conditions of its existence.

The movement of the system along the creode can be likened to a ball rolling along the bottom of a gully: no matter how many times we repeat the experiment, the ball will invariably end up in a zone at the lower end of the gully, even though its path will never repeat and will always differ, as each time we will make our rational choices.

Moreover, during the interaction between the digital individual and digital society, the dynamics of the creode are influenced by: 1) internal fluctuations (the struggle of various forces); 2) random external actions; 3) the intensity of these influences and interactions. While moving along the creode, the system maintains the same structure for a certain duration. The lifespan of the system depends on the choice it makes at the bifurcation points. However, as long as this choice remains merely a result of fluctuations, everything is determined by chance (the randomness present in society and in the life of the individual), even though one cannot dismiss the known element of determinism in digital processes.

Any digital system at the micro-level consists of a certain set of essential parameters reflecting the forces of interaction among them. This, however, does not exclude the possibility of other interactions between different elements of the system. "Hidden" connections can lead to the formation of relatively stable substructures permeating the microstructures. The more complex the organism and its constituent elements of the digital system, the more diverse the factors influencing it, and the more dynamic and stochastic these influences are, the more intricate and branched the creode-genetic landscape unfolds as a field for the behavior of the digital system in the context of the struggle of ideas, platforms, and concepts.

The shorter the segments of creodes and the more frequent the bifurcations, the more the behavior of the digital system is determined by the sequence of choices made at the bifurcation points. These choices or alternative turns are defined by the substructure of the system, determining specific substructural relationships. These substructural relationships are conceptually formalized and can become key in certain situations. Therefore, the art of managing the interaction between the digital individual and digital society lies in predicting the points of "unstable equilibrium" in the unfolding events. A sign of impending bifurcation is always the increasing frequency and intensity of fluctuations, necessitating the tuning and self-adjustment of a specific substructure and subsystem, thereby "orchestrating" it in a certain manner.

The role of subcultures in the behavior of organisms cannot be overstated, as they provide the physical substrate enabling informational interaction among organisms and with their environment. Only through informational interaction can the existence of interaction between the digital individual and digital society be realized, and as the system moves along the creode, in the absence of bifurcations and associated acts of choice, it is directed by the equilibrium of the forces in the field based on creativity.

If such a system possesses a governing body, its role is to combat fluctuations. If the choice at the bifurcation points is made randomly, this would only constitute stochastic (non-systemic) activity, and there would be no possibility of governance or self-governance. The decision-making subject utilizing information could be the system as a whole or an individual element organically integrated into the functional structure that relies on it. It is precisely in these instances that we speak of management and self-governance, which are part of the respective self-organizing processes.

When management operates as a unified social organism, all parameters of the governed system function harmoniously, organized, and clearly. For the interaction in the form of "signals" to be precise rather than disorganized, there must be a congruence of thesauri. In complex systems, the primary form of interaction is informational interaction. Consequently, the effectiveness of functioning in such systems is determined by the richness of language, the development of the informational structure, and the congruence of thesauri among interacting elements. The organization of management for the interaction between the digital individual and digital society necessitates proper preparation of system elements, their self-adjustment, ensuring that the thesaurus of all components aligns, and for this, rapid coordination of their collaboration must occur.

The driving force behind the self-organization of the management activity concerning the interaction between the digital individual and digital society as complex social systems is the pursuit of self-preservation of the system within the changing external environment. The programming of activities involves selecting specific goals or anticipated results of future activity, serving as a means for the effective functioning of the system as a unified whole.

For the management of the interaction between the digital individual and digital society as complex social systems to fulfill the needs of society's members, a transition must occur from stochastic exploratory activity to constructive-creative behavior, necessitating the correct selection of goals, various means, and trajectories in achieving these objectives. If the goal of the activity is externally dictated (centralized planning), we are not dealing with self-organization but rather a specific case or process of organizational management, which local authorities engage in based on an integrated approach.

Managing the centrifugal movement in the interaction between the digital individual and digital society requires precise selection of the path of least resistance at any given moment and place. In centrifugal movement, negative motivation predominates, whereas goal-directed movement is characterized by the influence of positive motivation, drawing the organism toward a specific point in space associated with achieving the chosen goal.

In the centrifugal movement, one must possess precise information regarding the choice of action at bifurcation points, that is, to hold knowledge that can lead to a deliberate or random path selection. Prior accumulation of information can mitigate the risks associated with serendipitous exploration. Although random searching can sometimes yield desired outcomes, the behavior of self-organizing systems is not invariably constructive.

Random search may serve as a means to overcome certain negative influences on the system. As a result of the informational interaction between the digital individual and the digital society, several possibilities arise:

1. The accumulation of external experiences by the system;
2. An increase in the intentionality and efficacy of its behavior;
3. The potential for disinformation;
4. The absence of absolutely reliable thesauruses (languages of mutual understanding);
5. The lack of entirely trustworthy communication channels.

The outcome of such an informational process may result in a distorted perception of the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society, grounded in the organism's destructive behavior.

A new model for managing the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society, as a complex social system, encompasses:

1. The method of decomposing the management objective into both the object of governance and the managed subsystem;
2. A method of vertical and horizontal coordination;
3. The multi-criteria nature of global and local management objectives;
4. The conflicts that arise among system components;
5. Resource limitations in management;
6. The capacity for self-organization;
7. Openness (interaction with the external world).

The interaction of the digital individual and digital society as a unified social organism signifies the dynamism and totality of the connections and relations among all realities of the subject. Spiritually, it converges into a semantic universe (a multitude of all possible worlds or systems).

Various theories of managing the interaction between individuals and societies as complex social systems are described in philosophical literature. This issue has been explored by thinkers such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and V. Nalîmov. The historical process of managing the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society as complex social systems involves the fragmentation of Being and Mentality into increasingly localized forms of existence. The integrity of the interaction between humanity and society, humanity and nature (being, the infinite subject, symbol, and freedom) unfolds during the existence of lineage, society, and nature, transforming into an infinite object: freedom becomes necessity, and symbol becomes descriptor (knowledge devoid of moral obligation). This theory posits that the origin of all that exists is the activity of the Absolute (the demiurge, God, the creator, or the human mentality as the Absolute).

Managing the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society as complex social systems should be classified as intricate, multi-loop, nonlinear systems with feedback. They are governed not by simple cause-and-effect relationships. The core structure of these systems is a “closed loop,” where cause defines effect, which, in turn, defines cause. There is neither a beginning nor an end. The development of the system depends on the isolated system and the policies governing decision-making. In these systems, the interconnections among elements are far more significant than the individual elements, for instance, in addressing the diversification of recreational services based on creativity and balance.

The systemic approach to managing the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society as complex social systems is based on the principles of logical modeling, methods of rationality, and the effectiveness of the human factor. To achieve management as a unified social organism, “digital management,” grounded in universal human values manifested through national and individual contexts, as well as the theory of “human relations,” is essential. For the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society as a unified social organism to be realized, it is crucial to implement concepts such as “human value,” “social responsibility,” and “motivation” in practice. The primary task of the science of digital management is to increase the likelihood of selecting the optimal course of action under given conditions, for our future hinges upon this.

The effect of managing the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society as complex social systems constitutes a general systemic-spatial capability. The informational field of the object comprises a multitude of informational constructs birthed by the evolution of the internal structure and spatial evolution of the object. Reflexive interactions among two or more autonomous open systems enable the exchange of information, energy, and other elements with their environment and among themselves. Synergetics is characterized by terms such as self-organization, spontaneous structural genesis, nonlinearity, and open systems.

Managing the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society as complex social systems reveals reality as a field of coexisting possibilities. It is fundamentally important that nonlinear systems are those whose properties are defined by processes, where the result of each influence, in the presence of another, manifests differently.

Synergetics has proven to be an extraordinarily productive scientific concept for managing the interaction between the digital individual and the digital society, as it encompasses new priorities in the contemporary worldview, the concept of an unstable and uneven world, the phenomenon of uncertainty and multialternativity, and the idea of chaos emerging from order.