Contextualising COVID-19 as a Digital Pandemic

Abstract

Growing systemic complexity and interdependence have made a large variety of systems (economic, public health, cyber, etc.) susceptible to irreversible and cascading failure. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is indicative of such complexity and currently causing vast human suffering all around the world, but also triggers a global online revolution with new opportunities, risks, threats and dangers. Starting from its description as the world's first digital pandemic, the central aim of this editorial is to contextualise Homo Virtualis's special issue on the COVID-19 disruption to the digital landscape and its societal impact. A concise overview of such disruption is presented and a few examples are given, along with a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives on mediatisation and globalisation, with special emphasis on Globalisation 4.0 and the transition to Artificial Intelligence Society.