The Digital Age Getting Darker: Job Creation, Economic Development, and Sustainability
The Digital Age Getting Darker: Job Creation, Economic Development, and Sustainability
By Professor Ojo Emmanuel Ademola
Shadows Beneath the Glow of Innovation
The Digital Age, once celebrated as a beacon of progress, is increasingly revealing its darker undercurrents. Technology has transformed economies, societies, and cultures, but it has also introduced risks, widened divides, and created sustainability challenges. The glow of innovation is dimmed by shadows of exclusion, exploitation, and ecological strain. Yet within this darkness lies potential for renewal. If approached strategically, these challenges can be reframed as opportunities for job creation, economic development, and sustainable transformation.
CG Musa Sworn in as Minister of Defense: President Tinubu’s Defense Masterstroke
Uneven Gains and the Digital Divide
The first dimension of this darkness is the unequal distribution of digital gains. While technology has generated immense wealth, advanced economies and corporations dominate, leaving billions excluded. The digital divide extends beyond access to devices, encompassing affordability, skills, and institutional support. This exclusion deepens existing inequalities, creating a development gap that threatens to leave entire regions behind.
The Environmental Cost of Connectivity
A second dimension of darkness lies in the environmental cost of digital expansion. The infrastructure of connectivity—data centres, networks, devices, and platforms—demands enormous amounts of energy and resources. Data centres consume vast quantities of electricity, often powered by fossil fuels, while the production and disposal of devices contribute to e-waste and resource depletion. The paradox is stark: digital technologies are often promoted as enablers of sustainability, yet their own footprint threatens ecological balance. Without systemic change, the Digital Age risks becoming a high-carbon age, undermining the very goals of sustainable development.
Extractive Platforms and Concentrated Power
The third dimension of darkness is the extractive nature of digital platforms. A handful of corporations dominate global ecosystems, capturing data, attention, and value at unprecedented scales. Their business models often prioritise profit over public interest, leading to opaque governance, exploitative labour practices, and monopolistic control. This concentration of power stifles innovation, erodes trust, and undermines democratic accountability. The darker side of digital capitalism is not simply about inequality of wealth but about inequality of agency. Communities, workers, and even governments find themselves dependent on platforms whose priorities may not align with inclusive development or sustainability.
Turning Darkness into Opportunity
Acknowledging these shadows is not an act of despair but a call to action. The darkness of the Digital Age can be transformed into light if societies seize the opportunity to build new forms of employment, economic resilience, and sustainable systems. Job creation is the most immediate and tangible pathway to turn digital challenges into development opportunities. By strategically aligning digital transformation with sustainability goals, governments, businesses, and communities can generate dignified work that addresses both economic and ecological needs.
Greening the Digital Backbone
A key opportunity lies in greening digital infrastructure. As data centres, networks, and cloud services grow, demand rises for professionals to design and maintain low‑carbon systems. Energy‑efficient architectures, renewable‑powered facilities, and advanced cooling methods create skilled jobs that cut emissions while strengthening regional tech clusters. With energy transparency mandates and efficiency incentives, governments can drive employment and climate progress. The rise of edge computing, reducing latency and energy loss, further expands roles for engineers, technicians, and facility managers.
Building Circular Technology Economies
Another fertile area for employment lies in circular technology economies. The right-to-repair movement, refurbishment hubs, and e-waste recovery systems can generate thousands of jobs while extending the lifecycle of devices. Technicians who refurbish smartphones, auditors who ensure safety standards, and specialists who recover critical minerals from discarded electronics all contribute to a sustainable digital economy. These roles are particularly valuable for small and medium-sized enterprises, which can thrive in local repair and refurbishment markets. By formalising e-waste collection and linking it to materials recovery, societies can reduce environmental harm while creating new industries. Circular economies not only provide employment but also foster resilience by reducing dependence on imported raw materials.
Public-Interest Data and Artificial Intelligence
Public-interest data and artificial intelligence represent another frontier for job creation. When data is governed responsibly and AI is deployed for civic purposes—such as health, agriculture, mobility, and urban services—new roles emerge in stewardship, auditing, and development. Data stewards ensure that information is managed ethically, model auditors evaluate algorithms for bias and safety, and civic developers build applications that improve service delivery. These jobs enhance transparency, productivity, and trust in public institutions. By establishing civic data trusts and funding independent audits, governments can create employment while ensuring that digital systems serve the public good.
Nature-Tech and Climate Services
Nature-tech and climate services also offer significant opportunities. Digital tools can monitor ecosystems, verify carbon credits, and analyse biodiversity data. Remote-sensing analysts, carbon market verifiers, and ESG specialists are increasingly in demand as climate finance expands. These roles not only support environmental compliance but also facilitate rural job creation, particularly in regions where agriculture and natural resources are integral to local livelihoods. By equipping cooperatives with connectivity, sensors, and market data, governments can enhance productivity while building climate resilience. The integration of digital and ecological systems creates a new class of employment that bridges technology and sustainability.
Inclusive Digitisation of MSMEs
MSMEs benefit greatly from inclusive digitisation. Onboarding, shared services, and local marketplaces integrate them into the digital economy, while intermediaries supporting e‑commerce, fintech, and logistics boost jobs and productivity. Affordable bookkeeping, compliance, and cybersecurity solutions strengthen firms and create roles for digital stewards. When governments prioritise SMEs in procurement and ensure prompt payment, local economies grow. Digitisation here is not just efficiency—it is equity, ensuring grassroots communities share in digital progress.
Cybersecurity as a Strategic Job Engine
Cybersecurity is another critical domain for job creation. As digital systems become more complex and interconnected, the need for secure foundations grows. Operational technology security analysts, cloud security engineers, and incident responders are essential to protect critical infrastructure. These roles not only safeguard investment but also support sovereign capacity, ensuring that nations can defend their digital assets. Cybersecurity jobs are particularly strategic because they combine technical expertise with national security imperatives, making them central to both economic and political resilience.
Policy Levers for Unlocking Opportunity
Unlocking these opportunities requires assertive policy action. Strong standards—such as energy disclosure, right‑to‑repair, and green procurement—can shift markets decisively. Finance must back blended models that de‑risk ventures in circular tech, climate services, and inclusion platforms. Building capability pipelines through micro‑credentials in green infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data stewardship ensures a skilled workforce. Regional clusters that co‑locate data centres, refurbishment hubs, and training facilities amplify spillover. Above all, governance for trust—via data trusts, AI assurance, and platform accountability—guarantees that digital value benefits communities rather than monopolies.
Sequencing Transformation for Impact
Transforming darkness into opportunity requires clear sequencing. In the short term, mapping digital energy use and e‑waste streams highlights quick wins, while coalitions of utilities, Telcos, OEMs, councils, and MSMEs set priorities. Pilot refurbishment hubs and civic data trusts can prove feasibility, and procurement standards reward providers meeting sustainability goals. Credentialing systems establish new occupations, while performance‑linked finance ensures measurable outcomes. With decisive action, governments and businesses can deliver credible impact within a year.
Conclusion: From Darkness to Light
The Digital Age grows darker as systems remain extractive, opaque, carbon‑heavy, and exclusionary. Yet this is not destiny. By greening infrastructure, advancing circular economies, governing data for the public good, and digitising MSMEs inclusively, societies can generate jobs while driving sustainable growth. The challenge is to face these shadows directly, recognising that the risks of digital transformation also hold seeds of renewal. The future of work and development hinges on turning this darkness into light.
By Professor Ojo Emmanuel Ademola, Africa’s First Professor of Cybersecurity and Information Technology Management, Chartered Manager, UK Digital Journalist, Strategic Advisor & Prophetic Mobiliser for National Transformation, and General Evangelist of CAC Nigeria and Overseas