Abstract:

A subtle, silent, and in many instances, almost imperceptible digital divide has gradually taken shape, emerging from the myriads of interactions of human beings with digital tools and platforms at our disposal. This divide transcends the traditional indicators of access, skills, and other sociocultural factors, profoundly affecting society. The elements of glamour, availability and, quality of design of digital content powered by strategic and focused marketing on specific markets, contexts and, age groups have been very effective to call our devoted attention to such content in search to immediate requirements of information, entertainment, financial transactions, personal communications and so on. We argue that the aspects of privacy, security, ethical and moral dimensions, and psychological implications related to the use of powerful and pervasive digital applications are commonly neglected or, in many cases, accepted without understanding the intended or unintended consequences involved. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, the Metaverse discourse, and other emerging technologies may exacerbate this condition unless we develop educational programs suited to mitigate this digital divide. We offer in this paper a preliminary framework, structured under the principles of complexity science, as a modest proposal to elucidate the limits of digitization as an urgent measure to support education in the efforts of bringing hope and human vision to the new generations of world citizens.

Methodology:
The methodology employed in this contribution, which draws on the principles of complex systems, consists of the following steps: Definition of a context, reading the social reality of such context, involving the historicity, geography, socio-cultural and economic factors, among others. Analysis of the digital ecosystem of the context to identify the main actors and their interactions also becomes crucial. The context is not only a physical space, but it could also be an age group, a social entity, a governmental institution, an educational environment, or a rural community. Understanding the social reality and the interactions of the main context agents provides data and information about the dynamics of such context, which is fundamental to studying the implications of the digitization processes about a particular endeavor or application.

Results:
Our contribution offers a preliminary framework to study the implications of digitization for a given context. We focus our exploratory framework on the ethical and educational implications. We recommend strategies and actions centered on capacity building, regulatory compliance, prospective analysis, and the relevance of the human factors related to the appropriation of digitization by society. We have applied this exploratory framework in rural communities regarding health and migration issues.

Conclusions:
The convergence of COVID-19, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and Climate Change have altered our modus operandi; digitization is at the heart of that convergence. We argue that the awareness and understanding of the implications of digitization might contribute to tapping the full potential of technology for the benefit of society.

Keywords:

Digitization, digital divide, complexity science.