Digital systems are, by definition, the core of digital transformation. This has led many to think that the system being considered in digital transformation is solely software. I argue that this approach is a fatal mistake, and it has induced a great number of already realized problems and even a greater number of concerns about the future. These problems and concerns have become evident along with rising requirements for sustainability and responsibility. In this paper, I call for a better understanding of the digital society in its entirety. By digital society I mean the societal system that is affected by the digital systems and the ongoing societal trans-formations. When shifting the focus to the effects of digital systems on societies, we are forced to consider all the anticipated outcomes, both desirable and undesirable ones. Unfortunately, the mainstream research has ignored, to a large extent, the potential threats, and unwanted outcomes, of digitalization, which makes the efforts to change software businesses to be more sustainable, difficult to succeed. In my paper, I will provide an overall picture of current and future challenges of digital societies and discuss what these challenges mean to the software industry in future. The easiest way to start with, is to learn from earlier experiences, especially from the unsuccessful stories.

翻译：数字系统，顾名思义，是数字化转型的核心。这导致许多人认为数字化转型中所考虑的系统仅仅是软件。我认为这种方法是致命错误，它已经引发了大量已实现的问题，甚至更多关于未来的担忧。随着对可持续性和责任的要求日益提高，这些问题和担忧变得显而易见。本文呼吁更好地理解整个数字社会。所谓数字社会，是指受数字系统和持续社会变革影响的社会体系。当焦点转向数字系统对社会的影响时，我们不得不考虑所有预期结果，无论其是否令人满意。不幸的是，主流研究在很大程度上忽视了数字化的潜在威胁和不良后果，这使得改变软件企业使其更具可持续性的努力难以成功。本文将全面阐述数字社会当前和未来的挑战，并讨论这些挑战对未来软件行业的意义。最简单的切入点是从以往的经验中学习，尤其是不成功的案例。