The role of humans in the cyber age
EC MEDICI Framework of cooperation
Session 141
Technology is usually considered neutral, neither good nor bad it is the purpose and use that humans choose to make the difference. For a long time, researchers in the technological sector didn’t pose their attention both on ethical and ontological aspects nor on the mid- and long- term impacts of their discoveries on society.
Competition was based on the race to space, the Moon, technological innovation, supercomputers, today, the competition among the major players, mainly private companies, seems to be focused on quantum systems and artificial intelligence. At the same time ongoing digital transition or rather digital transformation has deeply impacted society repeatedly without any prior assessment of its impact.
The added value and results achieved thanks to digital technology, including of course artificial intelligence and quantum computing, are not in doubt, but it seems appropriate to carefully evaluate the concerns raised and the potential disadvantages.
Several novels and probably much more sci-fiction movies through time depicted some future societies based on full top-down control or completely anesthetised by pleasant goods, or completely unable to use critical thinking.
Among the novels we can refer to George Orwell’s “Big Brother - Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1949), Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1951), and last but not less relevant Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” (1932).
These three novels provide three different dystopic models of future society foreseen in a twenty-year period from 1930s to the 1950s. Looking to our society though these lenses we can find several aspects that recall these novels.
If we consider the sci-fiction movies, there is a broad set of films proposing a critical or dystopic vision on the future. Starting from Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A space Odyssey” (1968) epic science fiction film based on an Arthur C. Clark novel. A significant example of self-consciousness is the key aspect of another sci-fiction movie John Badham’s “Wargames” (1983). The movie focus on the “first strike” action as it is iconically depicted by another sci-fiction movie, Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove: or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964)
The list of Sci-Fiction movies dealing with “cyber nightmares” is endless, “Eagle Eye” (2008) directed by D. J. Caruso, Andy and Larry Wachowski’s “Matrix” (1999), Steven Spielberg’s “A.I.” (2001),” I Robot” directed by Alex Proyas (2004), Luc Besson’s “Lucy” (2014), and more.
Extending the range to the whole digital domain we find great selection of movies dealing with cyber surveillance like Tony Scott’s Enemy of State, digital drawbacks in Irwin Winkler’s “The Net” (1995), and if we would like to include unmanned autonomous weapons in a funny environment Barry Levinson’s “Toys” (1992).
To conclude let’s include the dystopic society depicted by Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” (1985) a satire of technocracy, bureaucracy, hyper-surveillance, corporate statism, and state capitalism not far as a vision from Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four”.
This limited list of samples, novels and movies, provides an insight on the future societies foreseen in approx. one hundred years, all of them offer a dystopic world often dominated by technologies, totalitarian states, top-down centralised control sometimes managed by automatic non supervised machines, techno-surveillance, flooding of mainstream information, filtering and elimination of divergent thoughts, reduced human rights, eradication of culture and critical thinking.
His holiness Pope Leo XIV recently issued an encyclical letter entitled “Magnifica Humanitas” with specific focus, as stated in the heading, “On safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence”. Section three is entitled “Technology and dominance. the grandeur of humanity in light of the promises of AI” the set of paragraphs “The technocratic paradigm and digital power” recall Pope Francis Encyclical “Laudato Si” “denounced the growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm in our globalised world: the tendency to let the logic of efficiency, control and profit alone shape personal, social and economic decisions. This makes it clear that technology is not simply a tool.
Do we consider some of these scenarios realistic for the near future?
Which will be the role of humans in the cyber age?
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C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
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C2. Information and communication infrastructure
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C3. Access to information and knowledge
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C4. Capacity building
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C5. Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-government
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-business
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-learning
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-health
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-employment
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-environment
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C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
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C9. Media
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C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
The development of Digital Humanism will favour the alignment with some of the SGDs (e.g. 3,4,5,7,8,9,13,15).
With reference to the Global Digital Compact Principles, among the others, para i and j are nowadays relevant.
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Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
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Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
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Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
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Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
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Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
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Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
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Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
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Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
With specific reference to UNGA 2025 report our interest are focussed on Data Governance Para 81-83 and
Artificial intelligence Para 84-87
- Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
- Objective 3: Foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights
- Objective 4: Advance responsible, equitable and interoperable data governance approaches
- Objective 5: Enhance international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity
A specific set of references will be provided on the occasion of the session.