The ghosts of educational past and future are calling ...
From Facer & Sandford's 2010 article, the scenario that seems most viable to me is:
World 1: Trust Yourself
A highly individualized world of contingent and shifting allegiances in which there is no support for collective responses to social problems, and in which individuals are free/required to take high levels of personal responsibility for their actions. In this environment, we see two education systems emerging:
1 ‘Informed Choice’ – a highly personalized education system structured around the individual collaborating lifelong with paid mentors and structuring education provision from diverse sources around their needs.
2 ‘Independent Consumer’ – a highly atomized education system in which individuals are able to choose from a complex menu of standardized provision from private, public and not for profit sectors.
Now why do I think this?
I suppose I will end with the same Facebook-finger pointing from which I began this semester, but yes, social media. Or at least social media as we know it today: the Facebook-business-model-that-preys-on-people-and-their-data which breeds a sort of isolationism. And this is strange to say, I realize, considering Facebook is considered to be the great Connector.
It is undeniable that Facebook shapes the way we connect with people, adds preset "Facebook-form" to our social exchanges, whether it is a thumbs-up like or a smiling emoji 😝, FB tends to "keep it shallow." It modifies our behavior. We adopt public personas that are separate from our private ones, and consequently our more intimate, individual selves become isolated and we ultimately lead to removal from a true community. That is why I choose the "Trust Yourself World" as being the most viable.
And
we do see this me-centeredness playing out already through
hyper-personalization of our educational spaces (customized knowledge
paths). We see this also with MOOCs and paths
of personalized learning trajectories, AI-enabled "if you liked this,
then you'll also like this ..." suggestions at Amazon. Or
in other informal spaces such as well being analyzed for our reading
habits from eBook applications whenever we read online. And even Mendeley,
the citation management app, that makes personalized recommendations on
research articles, plus lots more. These are subtle indications perhaps
but ubiquitous none the less ...
One. AI virtual companions or the "Internet of Emotions"
With increasing isolationism due to social media addiction, we will take comfort in the company of our appliances. In 2045, these smart objects around the home will not only offer us a world of customized, hyper-personalized conveniences, but they will become our social companions as well. As an example, the Roomba vacuum maybe looks and feels more like a Cocker Spaniel or something and rubs against our leg when it needs its dirt emptied. Or maybe there are better examples.
My
point is that we (ie. researchers) will have a better handle on the
anatomy of emotions and of our affective selves, especially as it
pertains to cognition. I predict that we will adopt these smart and
social objects as members of the family and they will know how to push
our buttons just as well as we push theirs. It seems all roads will lead
to data privacy issues.
Two. Empathy Development through ICT Platforms
In the same vein, I predict that ICT platforms will be created to resuscitate our dwindling sense of empathy due to the isolationism that Facebook and other like social media will continue to sow. Education has always been seen as a powerful tool to help shape our identities, help to socialize learners, to be able to participate in the wider community, whether in political, economic or social terms. And when we no longer develop empathy organically through F2F exchanges, we will need extracurricular help. More than today, it will become a major focus of professional development, one that is necessary because we will become that highly individualized society. If we become so immersed in our social media echo chambers, it will be extremely difficult to put oneself in another's shoes without spending time immersed in empathy immersion courses or an ICT platform, something akin to spending a few years in civil service in which you virtually swap. places with someone and build up those flabby empathy muscles.
Use it or lose it, as they say.
Work cited:
Facer, K., & Sandford, R. (2010). The next 25 years?: Future scenarios and future directions for education and technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26, 74–93.
Hi Danica,
ReplyDeleteYour videos were great and I love the idea of AI companions! A Furby that could be useful? And in that vein what about AI service animals? If an AI guide dog could be as functional as a Tesla driverless car, the user could have the companionship and assistance without the responsibility of caring for a living creature. Individuals with limited sight or sightless have many challenges living independently, including cleaning up after one's pet. With this idea, I just Googled AI guide dog, and sure enough, someone is working on it:
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/07/robotic-guide-dog-offers-alternative-to-visually-impaired-people/
And offer a video of a prototype:
https://youtu.be/GHGBcwWWNOs
The AI guide dog is still in its infancy, but it's not 2045 yet. I have faith that "Theia" will eventually be furry and cuddly, loyal, reliable, charge herself at night like a good Roomba, and her owner will never need to carry a 50 lb. bag of dog food or search for dog waste in a pile of leaves.
However, I will disagree with you on the projected isolation. While all of our bad habits and dependency on technology for social outlets lead us down the path of social isolation, including increasing loss of face to face time with others, we are still social creatures who just can't stay isolated, even during a pandemic.
Hi Danica! I really like that you used the videos to introduce readers to your ideas! They make your blog flow well:) I have been following your journey of quitting Facebook this semester, and I think you made a strong point that online tools and and social platforms are shaping, if not controlling, the ways we behave and connect. I also chose the "Trust Yourself" world in my blog. While you wrote about this world from a technology determinist point of view, my discussion stressed on the importance of learners' motivation and individual needs. I think our ideas crossed in the sense that virtual worlds are becoming more and more individual-centered. Thanks to the convenience provided by technology, we can find almost everything we need and accomplish many tasks without going out. However, I wonder if we want this trend to keep developing in the future. Like you mentioned, technology is potentially driving people apart and making users less empathetic. Reading your blog made me wonder if designers and engineers will realize the problematic side of ICTs and intentionally make them less efficient to promote face-to-face interactions.
ReplyDeleteI also found Christine's discussion of AI guide dog thought-provoking. I came across this video not long ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfB8xzWITa4
The video is about a young man who designed a high-tech house for himself and raised an AI dog. Although I knew scientists already had the capability of creating robotic animals, I was quite surprised that some people had already substituted real pets with AI pets. Although the AI dog can do a lot of tricks and requires less attention than a real dog, the man in the video looks incredibly isolated and lonely. I personally feel that virtual ties can never replace offline connections. Do you think the "Trust Yourself" world is an ideal or something we want to avoid?
Thank you both for your comments.
DeleteWeikang, I will definitely check out your posting, you have me intrigued ... I feel like my position on Facebook is isolating in and of itself:/ My point is not that socializing in a network, online or otherwise is bad, but it comes down to the business model employed by Facebook in which they sell our personal data to the highest bidder, who in turn, successfully modifies our behavior by changing and manipulating our feeds. Even if this is done in a small way, it has the capacity, as it has been shown to do already in our election process, therefore to undermine society. And now what is going to be very frightening is that Facebook, is now being abandoned for a newer site called Parlor, in which hate groups can actually post misinformation without censorship. So that's the first thing, and in my mind at least, reason enough to abandon FB. But say, you take the argument that "how else could I connect with friends and family?" Or as Christine suggests, we are social creatures even in a pandemic. True, but to this I would point out that connecting on the FB platform is not the same as true dialogue or conversation in which real exchange happens. So yes, maybe you can keep tabs on a wider community of acquaintances, but you are probably not establishing a deeper connection with anyone. But I could be wrong there, there are always exceptions I realize. It's just funny that Facebook is now a social need... how on earth did anyone get by without it before 2008, hah. And finally, no, I do not think that "trust yourself" is an ideal. I think it is dangerous if we no longer trust anyone but ourselves. Fake news and all that.
Hi Danica,
ReplyDeleteI really like your video idea and the buzz sound call from 2045 reminds me of those sci-fi film.Same as you, I think Word I: trust yourself could be one of the viable scenario of the future education. MOOC has provided all kinds online courses and it is not hard to personalize a course set for learner with the development of machine learning. But I think a personalized classes it not only through the computer. It also requires the interaction with different learning environment, the observation and guidance from adult to give proper feedback. How do you think a better way to achieve personalized courses instead of hodgepodge online courses?
As for the AI companion and empathy point, I do believe the trend of isolation in younger generation is truly exist in today's society. But no one is completely isolated from the community, society, and the world. Computer-supported collaborative learning community is helpful for user to engage in and bring questions. To somehow, we all live in our own reality, and it is important to have empathy with others. Here is an video animation about the importance of empathy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPMMSKfKZQ . But I think there is an overstate of the echo chamber effect and the the dwindle of empathy. From my own experience, people still have critical thinking of the society and have an empathy with others even though they know the dark side of the world.
Hi Danica,
ReplyDeleteThank you for a thought-provoking post!
I hear your point on how ICTs might lead us to more social isolation, but will agree with Christine's point that we are all social creatures at the end of day. We all have social needs, but maybe what we need is not currently being satisfied by existing channels such as Facebook.
Going back to your first prediction, an AI virtual companion - that sounds really interesting. I came across this app: [https://replika.ai/](https://replika.ai/), and the idea is to create a personal AI that would help you express and witness yourself by offering a helpful conversation. In other words, the AI sees the world through your eyes and talks to you through these situations.
Now, doesn't the concept sound like empathy to some extend? The human AI spends time with you, listens to your thoughts, and attempts to understand your point of view. I also see how it can be used as an educational tool to learn more about yourself. And the more you know about yourself, the more grasp you have about your own identities and characters, which will help you position yourself in social situations. While this isn't human connection per se, the empathy education can be empowered by ICTs.
What do you think? I'm also thinking that if I'm getting to know myself more through an AI bot, I will also have problems with "trusting myself". But, that might be the norm in 2045, who knows?