The Opportunities and the Challenges
Students around the world use media platforms and AI systems every day to search for information, learn new topics, interact, and collaborate with others. The increasing use of digital tools is transforming society, allowing everyone to create and share media, and not just consume it. This shift has also opened more opportunities for self-expression, collaborative learning, and civic engagement, making it easier than ever to engage in social, cultural, and political activities.
However, these opportunities also bring challenges. Information online is not always reliable, as media can easily be plagiarized and reinforce biases. Many outlets also rush to publish, often sacrificing quality and spreading misinformation for traffic. These challenges are only exacerbated by generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), which accelerates and simplifies content creation.
Headlines continue to caution about the impact of AI on our lives, from taking jobs to detecting diseases, with a wide range of opinions. Similarly in education, some experts continue to warn of negative effects on learning and schools, while others see potential benefits. The media landscape is now more complex than ever before.
Importance of Media & Artificial Intelligence Literacy
There are growing efforts to nurture these competences, such as integrating media and AI literacy programs into curricula, developing applications and games for curricular or extra-curricular activities, and creating international digital competency frameworks.
However, the effectiveness of these initiatives must be monitored since the stakes are high. To bolster benefits and reduce risks, it is essential to assess the competences that students have developed to understand how media platforms and AI systems work, the human role in media, the social and ethical consequences of using these tools, effective communication and collaboration on media platforms and with AI systems, and critical evaluation of digital content.