Within two round tables held on August 25, 2022, interesting discussions were held in order to exchange experiences of members of the International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions (AICESIS). The impression is that online education in light of availability and quality, as well as social-economic implications in the application of digital technology, are both a step forward and a source of danger in the development of every society.
We are witnessing the accelerated evolution of the education system and the advantages and disadvantages of online knowledge acquisition and verification. It has been noticed that motivated and disciplined pupils and students do well in distance education, and in some companies this type of training to strengthen the capacity of employees is already part of the HR strategy. There is still a lot of room for improving the overall quality of online education. Competencies and skills of teachers, classes for people with various forms of disabilities and underdeveloped infrastructure are just some of the areas that require further work and investment.
In particular, we should bear in mind the general tendencies of the younger generations, as future participants of the labor market, who use the Internet intensively and are not ready to sit in the auditorium for a long time. On the other hand, the socio-economic implications of the application of digital technology are big.
Some segments of society are excluded from the general flow (the older population, as a rule, digitally illiterate), or act, to put it mildly, unexpectedly (a child sues his parents because he was born against his will).
Unwanted consequences of digitization include cyber terrorism, undermining of global financial markets and digital discrimination, and the fear of various risks is especially present in the application of artificial intelligence (AI), which itself draws conclusions and makes decisions based on collected digital data.
It is clear that society does not like, nor is it useful and safe, everything that digital technology brings. But there is no going back and it is our responsibility to put people at the center of changes due to digitization, and people as citizens with equal rights and opportunities.
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