ABSTRACT

As social science fiction, this paper imagines three possible futures for education and technology. Among the most important technologies emerging today are data-aggregating technologies such as AI, affective computing, adaptive or predictive software, clouds and platforms. The paper is not, however, directed at specific technologies, but at indeterminate sociotechnical configurations. Set in 2040, it offers three ‘histories’ of the 2020s. Might students become (i) ‘smooth users’, improving themselves in the pursuit of frictionless efficiency within a post-democratic frame created by large corporations, (ii) ‘digital nomads’, seeking freedom, individualism and aesthetic joy as solopreneurs exploiting state regulations and algorithmic rules while stepping out of the state and deeply into the capitalist new economy, or (iii) participatory, democratic, ecological humans embedded in ‘collective agency’ that see institutions as spaces for exploring more equitable ways of living? The paper reflects on the future research and the political, educational and technological decisions which would make each of these three fictional future histories more or less likely.

摘要

作为社会科幻小说，本文设想了教育和技术的三种可能的未来。当今出现的最重要的技术是数据聚合技术，例如AI，情感计算，自适应或预测软件，云和平台。但是，本文并非针对特定技术，而是针对不确定的社会技术配置。它设定于2040年，提供了2020年代的三个“历史”。学生可能会成为（i）“平滑的用户”，在大公司创建的后民主框架内提高自己的效率，以追求无摩擦的效率；（ii）“数字游牧民”，他们在寻求企业家的自由，个人主义和审美乐趣，他们利用国家法规和算法规则，同时退出国家并深入资本主义新经济，或者（iii）参与式，嵌入“集体代理”中的民主的生态人，将机构视为探索更公平生活方式的空间？本文对未来的研究以及政治，教育和技术决策进行了反思，这将使这三种虚构的未来历史或多或少地具有可能性。