I am drawn to critiques of capitalism. Creativity has been co-opted by capitalism (Kanellopoulos, 2014) because of its connection with innovation. As a creativity advocate and educator, I have found this deeply troubling. Many of the specific ideas offered by Selwyn (2021) oppose neoliberal ideals and call for the reorientation of educational technology on account of environmental sustainability concerns. Some of these ideas include “media abstention and resistance, digital disconnection and restrained modes of digital engagement” (Conclusions section, para. 3). Selwyn (2021) asserted that people have grown disenchanted with big tech. I have seen this from parents choosing low-tech options to protect their children, recognizing the perils of unfettered access to technology on their children’s growth and development. Degrowth and voluntary simplicity are examples from Selwyn (2021) that could realistically gain traction from our disillusioned society. This potential reckoning of the harm caused by big tech on our most vulnerable may serve as the catalyst for people to question the fundamental systems at play in our society. Might this even lead to the eventual rejection of these deeply entrenched systems? I predict that people will be more apt to question tech heavy lifestyles after witnessing the detrimental impact that these lifestyles had on an entire generation of children. Loosening tech’s grip on this population may be a double win; our children can develop in healthy ways, and we could tread a little lighter on our environment.
References:
Kanellopoulos, P. A. (2019). Countering reverse détournement: Subversive vs. subsumptive creativity. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 30(2), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.2979/philmusieducrevi.30.2.05
Selwyn, N. (2021). Ed-tech within limits: Anticipating educational technology in times of environmental crisis. E-Learning and Digital Media, 18(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211022951
Hi Jenna:
I, too, am thinking about a rejection of unchecked, unethical technology, which could lead to an educational renaissance. But, for me, technology is still being used within ethical stewardship and a renewed commitment to human flourishing. I think for both your anticipated future and mine, it takes an awakening and awareness of the harms of technology and what alternatives could look like. I think about the “resistance” to current dominant social media, via the development of new options that place the power back in the users’ hands. Do your “low-tech” possibilities mean that you still plan to include tech in your speculative future?
Great question, Zubeida. I really love the question raised in one of the assigned readings by Jennifer Shae Roberts in Decolonizing AI Ethics: Indigenous AI Reflections, in which she asks “What would the world look like if AI followed value systems which truly promoted the betterment of all, instead of racing for profits and for the sake of speed itself?” This is the kind of AI that I envision and will be included in my speculative future. In one of our class zoom meetings I shared a link to an example of an AI chat bot that offered an example of purposefully built bot designed by Shae O. Omonijo, a Harvard PhD candidate, and founder of Critical Thinking Labs to deepen critical thinking skills. The link can be found here: https://www.criticalthinkingbot.com. I like the idea of AI that is created from smaller, more mindful data sets (also advocated for by Nafus et al., 2021, as cited by Selwyn, 2024) and designed by those who seek to empower the world.
For me, I feel like engaging in my inquiry through the lens of Indigeneity will be key to my speculative future. The next step in my research process is to seek out literature from unique and diverse Indigenous scholars whom I believe can help to inform this future, and offer guidance for this ethical stewardship of AI. While Indigenous people should not be burdened with having to ‘fix’ this problem, the fact that Indigenous people have been stewarding the land since time immemorial suggests the rigorous nature of Indigenous ways of knowing as a vital path forward. Plains Cree scholar, Archer Pechawis (2014) advised, “if we are to survive as a species, there must be a paradigmatic shift in our approach to life itself, one that encompasses Indigenous modes of thought and experiential reality: an earth-centred philosophy that brings technological advancement in line with human, animal and ecological concerns and ethical parameters” (NEWO (FOUR) section, para. 1). This plays a key role in my speculative future. I’d love to hear more about the “educational renaissance” in your speculative future.
References
Pechawis, A. (2014). Indigenism: Aboriginal world view as global protocol. In S. Loft & K. Swanson (Eds.), Coded territories: Tracing Indigenous pathways in new media art (pp. 31–47). University of Calgary Press.
Roberts, J. S. (2023, July 10). Decolonizing AI ethics: Indigenous AI reflections. Medium.
Selwyn, N. (2024). On the limits of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. Nordisk tidsskrift for pedagogikk og kritikk, 10(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.23865/ntpk.v10.6062
Hi Jenna!
I also hope that people will question tech heavy lifestyles… I think we are becoming more aware of the negative impacts of excessive technology use, especially on children. Hopefully, by 2035, we will have found a healthier balance between embracing the benefits of technology and recognizing when we need to step away from it, both for our well-being and for the environment. In my assignment, I am trying to think of ways AI can help in tailoring learning to better help professionals, but that scares me a little since I am not sure we can trust it. Will it mean more corporate control over what people learn? I don’t know.
I think your opening statement is impactful: “I am drawn to critiques of capitalism”. Capitalism is such a huge messy mass and neoliberalism is it’s nasty sidekick. Your opening statement caused me to think about RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms https://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U?si=UqjAk33g-z6h6MSQ&t=1 and how even though Sir Ken Robinson’s delivery is from 2010, it’s still thought provoking and relevant in 2026. It’s a bit alarming too in that some things change SO very quicky, while other things DO not change much at all. I appreciate how you take a step further by looking at the ways to decolonize education, doing things in new ways, and attaching value to something different.