Artificial Intelligence as a Challenge to Society and Education: Global Youth at Digital Trajectories in the Anthropocene

Abstract

This contribution covers four aspects of the topic. First, I would like to develop some anthropological reflections on the understanding of digital culture and show how comprehensively digital culture determines our self-image. Then I would like to present key findings on how young people deal with digital culture in seven countries. The results show how strongly the environment of young people is determined by digital culture and artificial intelligence. I shall also show how important learning machines or robots are in key areas of society and what developments looming here. Finally, I would like to examine the extent to which there is an inherent dynamism of digital culture and learning machines connected with the dynamics of industrialization and globalization in the Anthropocene, which is always about acceleration, control and the optimization of rational processes. Then I would like to raise the question whether learning machines, “deep learning”, artificial intelligence and digital culture can contribute to a less violent relationship of man to nature, to the other and to oneself and promoting education for sustainable development. With a focus on artificial intelligence to correct the global aberrations of the Anthropocene, numerous new anthropological and ethical issues are raised.