Portrait(s) of France(s): Digital Technology—What Are the Challenges for Society?
In the “metaverse”—that fictional virtual universe that seems to fascinate Mark Zuckerberg—will we be able to distinguish between artificial agents (also known as “chatbots”)—which do not represent any human beings—and avatars representing real people?
Laurence Devillers, Sorbonne University; Annie Blandin-Obernesser, IMT Atlantique – Institut Mines-Télécom; Elodie Gentina, IÉSEG School of Management; Fabrice Le Guel, Paris-Saclay University; Michel Robert, University of Montpellier and Pierre-Antoine Chardel, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School
There are two types of chatbots: those we use every day at banks, whose responses are preprogrammed, and the more recent ones, which take advantage of numerous technological advances—such as “transformers”—and are capable of generating original text.
Soon, digital technology is expected to offer personalized and emotional systems—a sort of “virtual friend” or even “guardian angel”—as well as “deadbots,” which emulate deceased individuals after processing vast amounts of data about them.
What are the challenges posed by this digital legacy and these new worlds opening up before us? These are the questions we explore in this fifth edition of our special newsletter on the 2022 presidential election, “Portrait(s) of France(s).”
Generally speaking, both in France and abroad, this rollout is sparking discussions about the links between sovereignty and digital technology through regulations—notably the European regulation scheduled for 2022—and control over resources and infrastructure. The rollout of the metaverse also raises questions about the costs of digital technology.
Who, today, is shaping the society of tomorrow and the rollout of digital technologies? What are the major digital divides?
Finally, given that young people prefer to use the Internet to stay informed—with social media as their primary point of access—will we all see the same world tomorrow?
What Digital Policy Directions for France: A Matter of Democracy and Citizenship
Digital technologies are having a growing impact on our lives; however, decision-making regarding their deployment oscillates between a culture of horizontal decision-making and technocratic decisions.
Sovereignty and the Digital Age: Taking Control of Our Destiny
How is digital sovereignty actually built, given that it appears to be threatened by the strategies and ambitions of foreign companies and certain governments?
The Physical Reality of the Digital World
Michael Kauffmann/Wikimedia, CC BY
Far from floating in the ether, our data is hosted in data centers that are subject to industrial risks and consume enormous amounts of electricity. What changes are on the horizon? What solutions are available?
Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Brut… a new way for young people to stay informed
Gone are the days of the whole family gathering to watch the 8 p.m. news. Young people often follow the news on their own, during breaks throughout the day, preferring social media and videos.
In Pictures: Access, Usage, Artificial Intelligence—The Three Digital Divides
There isn't just one digital divide—there are several. Discover them through illustrations and charts.
Laurence Devillers, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Sorbonne University; Annie Blandin-Obernesser, Professor of Law, IMT Atlantique – Institut Mines-Télécom; Elodie Gentina, Associate Professor of Marketing, IÉSEG School of Management; Fabrice Le Guel, Economist, Paris-Saclay University; Michel Robert, Professor of Microelectronics, University of Montpellier and Pierre-Antoine Chardel, Professor of Social Sciences and Ethics, member of the Observatory of Public Ethics, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.