DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL SOCIETY IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to identify the problems and directions of digital society’s development in Ukraine. The current stage of the information society has been investigated by the author. Under the influence of development of new technologies, it has clear signs of a transition to a digital society. It has been proven in the article that the widespread use of mobile devices in the life of social individuals alters the interaction between public authorities and stakeholders dramatically. The methodological basis of the research consist of the studying the state of transition of the information society to the digital one using logical analysis, synthesis and comparison, as well as conducting an expert survey by the Delphi method. Results of the research showed important problems and directions for further work on the development of digital economy and digital society in the region, such as: the level of access to the high-speed Internet in rural areas is far behind urban indices; along with the great desire of population to develop the e-democracy, there is a problem of improper work of relevant digital resources; e-Government is developing actively in terms of technology and software, but its efficiency is still very low. It has been argued in the article that not all administrative processes and procedures can be automized during the digital transformation. It has been shown by the authors that the positive example of the development of digital society’s foundations at the regional and local level is becoming a factor for the digitalization of all public administration bodies of Ukraine. The results of an expert survey on assessing the digital development of Dnipropetrovsk region has been presented in the article. In Ukraine’s realities, the introduction of digital technologies, including the artificial intelligence, is a benchmark for the Government's strategic goals in the long-term future. Positive experience of digital society’s development at the regional and local levels can be a driving force for the advancement of digital deployments at the national level. To that end, the evaluation of the electronic readiness of districts, cities and united territorial communities has been made in Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine.