【中文版在后面】

How can digital technology be used to transform society and build knowledge?

Since the 1990s, the digital revolution has kept on intensifying.

The latest stage, and not the least, is the democratisation of artificial intelligence (AI). An eloquent figure: in 2023, 40% of companies said they were increasing their investment in this technology! The digital revolution is now permeating all areas of society, to the point where we can now speak of a genuine societal transformation. But does this only have its virtues? Is it not, as the philosopher Bernard Stiegler has pointed out, both a remedy and a poison?

Fortunately, in a society of continuous technological intermediation in our professional and personal lives, there are safeguards that can be put in place to put (back) digital technology at the service of human beings. Here are a few avenues to explore.

The digital revolution: a total social fact

Digital technology must be seen as a total social fact, meaning that its influence is not limited to a handful of sectors: the scope of this revolution and the associated technologies actually encompasses our work, our daily lives, our interactions, right up to our public policies and the way we live together. This is why we can speak of a total social fact. This expression, coined by the sociologist Marcel Mauss in 1925 to characterise the exchange of compulsory gifts, refers to events whose scope is collective, i.e.   "those in which all institutions are expressed at once".

We use digital tools in our professional lives, but also in our personal lives (to communicate, to carry out procedures, to entertain ourselves, etc.). At work, the digital revolution is gradually turning into a societal transformation with the development of artificial intelligence. This technology makes it possible to automate processes that previously required human reasoning. For example, 72% of companies are now using AI in their recruitment process. This percentage is rising steadily, and should reach 80% by next year.

At the same time, only 10% of employees have been trained in this new technology, and many organisations are finding it difficult to integrate AI into their day-to-day operations.

These examples show that digital tools offer opportunities for businesses and individuals alike, but that they also give rise to fears and resistance.

When new technologies are both cure and poison

Philosopher Bernard Stiegler has described technology as pharmakon, the ancient Greek word for remedy and poison. Digital technology would therefore enhance us, just as much as it would diminish us.

Let's take a few examples. In the workplace, technical advances have certainly reduced risks and increased productivity.   However, these gains do not compensate for the feeling of dispossession felt by employees, due in particular to their loss of autonomy.   Thus, 65% of respondents to the Usine Nouvelle and Sopra RH 2023 barometer cite the potential risks associated with the dehumanisation of work processes as a disadvantage.

Overall, digital technology is tending to alter the work group by automating and/or dividing up tasks to an ever greater extent.      With digital tools becoming ubiquitous (who hasn't taken their work computer home with them?), the boundary between private and professional life is shrinking, and sometimes disappearing altogether. This observation was shared by 67% of the employees surveyed in the same barometer.

As for artificial intelligence, while it can perform tasks quickly and efficiently, the algorithms on which it is based are trained using massive quantities of data that can reinforce majority opinions and prejudices. This brings with it the risk of standardising our ability to think, standardising the content we produce and, ultimately, impoverishing our thinking across the board.

New technologies, including AI, are not just a tool for digital transition. While their benefits no longer need to be demonstrated, the question of their harmful effects still needs to be addressed. As a mirror reflecting our values, our choices and our future, they play a structuring role in our society. Often to the point of conditioning our lifestyles.

This raises an important question: how can we use technology not only to shape a more efficient future, but also a more humane one?

Putting digital tools at the service of people and knowledge

The upheavals caused by the digital revolution in our lives are plural. Both our private and professional lives are affected, to the point of blurring the boundaries between the two.  That's why it's important to think about the different ways in which digital technology can be used to benefit people and build knowledge.

In conjunction with the Conseil National du Numérique, I have identified two major convictions on which we can base our proposals.

Firstly, it is essential to develop a shared digital culture, to make new technologies the subject of research and questioning. In this respect, teaching the history of science and technology is fundamental to understanding the transformations of contemporary societies.

Secondly, digital technology must be the subject of democratic debate, as it raises major political issues. Sharing experiences and open discussions are, in this respect, a way for the public to reappropriate technological tools.

As far as work is concerned, it seems necessary to involve the employees concerned in the design and deployment of digital tools, so that the latter are not experienced as a constraint, but as an opportunity. The deployment of hybrid working, which is increasingly being adopted by organisations (in 2023, according to INSEE, 47% of French companies used teleworking), also needs to be carried out with good understanding. 

The aim is not to impose this way of organising work, but to make it a source of opportunities and improved quality of life. Since digital tools make it possible to work remotely with complete efficiency, it's time to turn them into vectors of autonomy and freedom, rather than increased control over employees.

In conclusion, new technologies are not just tools for digital transition: they are part of a genuine anthropological revolution, a total social fact, with multiple consequences for private and professional lives. But neither are they self-sufficient. In reality, the technologies we surround ourselves with are simply a reflection of our choices and values.

As we move into an unprecedented digital age, marked in particular by the incredible rise of artificial intelligence, it is worth remembering that every innovation must be guided by the following question: How can we use technology to shape a future that is more efficient, but also and above all more human, more ethical and more inclusive? How can we go beyond the pragmatism of technology to engage in genuine reflection that commits us as a society?  These are the questions we need to answer in the years to come, so that digital technology does not escape our responsibilities, and does not become anything other than an opportunity to be seized.

【中文版】

如何利用数字技术改造社会和建立知识?

自20世纪90年代以来，数字革命不断加剧。

最新阶段，也是最重要的阶段，是人工智能(AI)的民主化。一个雄辩的数字:2023年，40%的公司表示他们将增加对这项技术的投资!数字革命现在正在渗透到社会的各个领域，以至于我们现在可以说是一场真正的社会变革。但这是否只有优点呢?正如哲学家Bernard Stiegler所指出的那样，它不既是一剂良药又是一剂毒药吗?

幸运的是，在我们的职业和个人生活中不断出现技术中介的社会中，有一些保障措施可以到位，让数字技术为人类服务。这里有一些可以探索的途径。

数字革命:一个完全的社会事实

数字技术必须被视为一个全面的社会事实，这意味着它的影响并不局限于少数几个部门:这场革命和相关技术的范围实际上涵盖了我们的工作、日常生活、互动，甚至我们的公共政策和我们共同生活的方式。这就是为什么我们可以说是一个完全的社会事实。这个短语是由社会学家马塞尔·莫斯(Marcel Mauss)在1925年创造的，用来描述强制性礼物的交换，指的是范围是集体的事件，即:“所有制度同时得到表达”。

我们在工作中使用数字工具，但也在我们的个人生活中使用(沟通，执行程序，娱乐自己，等等)。在工作中，随着人工智能的发展，数字革命正逐渐转变为一场社会变革。这项技术使以前需要人类推理的过程自动化成为可能。例如，72%的公司现在在招聘过程中使用人工智能。这一比例正在稳步上升，到明年将达到80%。

与此同时，只有10%的员工接受过这项新技术的培训，许多组织发现很难将人工智能整合到日常运营中。

这些例子表明，数字工具为企业和个人提供了机会，但它们也引发了恐惧和抵制。

当新技术既是良药又是毒药的时候

哲学家Bernard Stiegler将技术描述为pharmakon，这是一个古希腊单词，意思是治疗和毒药。因此，数字技术会增强我们，也会削弱我们。

让我们举几个例子。在工作场所，技术进步无疑降低了风险，提高了生产率。然而，这些收益并不能弥补员工被剥夺的感觉，尤其是由于他们失去了自主权。因此，在business Nouvelle和Sopra RH 2023晴雨表的受访者中，65%的人认为与工作流程非人性化相关的潜在风险是一个劣势。

总的来说，数字技术倾向于通过自动化和/或在更大程度上划分任务来改变工作小组。随着数字工具变得无处不在(谁没有把工作电脑带回家?)，私人生活和职业生活之间的界限正在缩小，有时甚至完全消失。在同一晴雨表中接受调查的员工中，67%的人有同样的看法。

至于人工智能，虽然它可以快速有效地执行任务，但它所基于的算法是使用大量数据训练的，这些数据可能会强化多数人的观点和偏见。这带来了标准化我们的思考能力、标准化我们生产的内容的风险，并最终使我们的思维全面枯竭。

包括人工智能在内的新技术不仅仅是数字化转型的工具。虽然它们的好处不再需要证明，但它们有害影响的问题仍然需要解决。作为一面反映我们的价值观、我们的选择和我们的未来的镜子，它们在我们的社会中发挥着结构作用。常常影响到我们的生活方式。

这就提出了一个重要的问题:我们如何利用技术不仅塑造一个更高效的未来，而且塑造一个更人性化的未来?

利用数字工具为人类和知识服务

数字革命给我们的生活带来的动荡是多方面的。我们的私人生活和职业生活都受到了影响，以至于模糊了两者之间的界限。这就是为什么考虑数字技术可以用来造福人类和积累知识的不同方式是很重要的。

我同全国人权委员会一起确定了我们的建议可以根据的两个主要信念。

首先，必须发展共享的数字文化，使新技术成为研究和质疑的主题。在这方面，教授科学技术史是理解当代社会变革的基础。

其次，数字技术必须成为民主辩论的主题，因为它引发了重大的政治问题。在这方面，分享经验和公开讨论是公众重新利用技术工具的一种方式。

就工作而言，似乎有必要让相关员工参与到数字工具的设计和部署中来，这样后者就不会被视为一种约束，而是一种机会。越来越多的组织采用混合工作(根据INSEE的数据，到2023年，47%的法国公司使用远程工作)，也需要在充分理解的情况下进行。其目的不是强迫采用这种组织工作的方式，而是使之成为机会的源泉，提高生活质量。由于数字工具使远程工作完全高效成为可能，现在是时候把它们变成自主和自由的载体，而不是增加对员工的控制。

总之，新技术不仅仅是数字化转型的工具:它们是一场真正的人类学革命的一部分，是一个全面的社会事实，对私人生活和职业生活产生多重影响。但他们也不能自给自足。实际上，我们周围的技术只是我们的选择和价值观的反映。

随着我们进入一个前所未有的数字时代，尤其是人工智能的惊人崛起，值得记住的是，每一项创新都必须以以下问题为指导:我们如何利用技术塑造一个更高效、更人性化、更有道德、更包容的未来?我们如何才能超越技术的实用主义，参与真正的反思，使我们成为一个社会?这些都是我们在未来几年需要回答的问题，这样数字技术才不会逃避我们的责任，才不会成为一个可以抓住的机会。