Coronavirus is the first global crisis of a digital age and the divergence in policy responses reflects the challenge of navigating an unprecedented global situation under conditions of enormous uncertainty. We ask what lessons can be learned from this experience and identify two, both of which push against mainstream interpretations of recent events. First, and contrary to the view that the crisis exposed social media and Big Tech as a source of dangerous misinformation that needs to be regulated more strictly, the paper argues that the less mediated spaces of the Internet—social media and Twitter, in particular—played an essential role in triggering a more effective policy response based around social distancing, lockdown, and containment. Second, and contrary to the view that things will go back to normal once the worst of the crisis has passed, the paper argues that, as a direct result of lockdown, the status quo has been shifted across multiple sectors of the economy. Three examples of this shift are introduced, notably the forced experimentation with digital technologies in education and health, the increased use of remote work in many companies, and a reduction in environmentally harmful behavior and decrease in pollution levels. The long-term effects of this ‘reset’ are impossible to predict, but a quick return to the ‘old normal’ seems unlikely. The paper concludes with the suggestion that this reset has created a unique historical opportunity for the reappraisal of regulatory approaches across multiple domains and exposed the need for regulatory models better aligned to a less mediated, more decentralized world. COVID-19 is a global tragedy, but—given that it has happened—it should be used as a learning experience to re-imagine a better, more socially, and environmentally responsible future.

中文翻译：

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在 COVID-19 之后，世界会永远一样吗？数字时代第一次全球危机的两个教训

冠状病毒是数字时代的第一场全球危机，政策反应的分歧反映了在巨大不确定性条件下应对前所未有的全球形势所面临的挑战。我们询问可以从这次经历中吸取什么教训，并确定两个教训，这两个教训都反对对最近事件的主流解释。首先，与认为这场危机将社交媒体和大型科技公司暴露为需要更严格监管的危险错误信息来源的观点相反，该论文认为，互联网中中介较少的空间——尤其是社交媒体和推特——在触发基于社会疏远、封锁和遏制的更有效政策响应方面发挥了重要作用。其次，与认为一旦危机最严重的时期过去一切都会恢复正常的观点相反，该论文认为，作为封锁的直接结果，现状已经在多个经济部门发生了转变。介绍了这种转变的三个例子，特别是在教育和健康领域强制试验数字技术、许多公司更多地使用远程工作、减少对环境有害的行为和降低污染水平。这种“重置”的长期影响无法预测，但快速恢复到“旧常态”似乎不太可能。本文最后提出的建议是，这种重置为重新评估跨多个领域的监管方法创造了独特的历史机会，并揭示了对监管模型的需求，以更好地适应更少中介、更去中心化的世界。COVID-19 是一场全球悲剧，