Luca Botturi, Professor of Media in Education, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI); Alberto Pellai, psychotherapist, writer, and essayist; On the occasion of the video meeting intervention by Maryanne Wolf, UCLA University and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Introduction and moderation by Fabio Mercorio, Professor of Computer Science, University of Milan Bicocca and Foundation for Subsidiarity

Over the past two decades, digital development has radically transformed every aspect of our daily lives: always-connected digital devices, the spread of social platforms, and the evolution of personalized information algorithms permeate our lives, often without us being fully aware. In such a scenario, digital devices are the container, not the content, which today is selected, processed, and often generated by Artificial Intelligence algorithms. The society that lies ahead of us is one where human interaction will increasingly be mediated by digital devices connected to complex and opaque services managed by global companies. It is therefore crucial to develop not only critical thinking – the result of understanding the object concerning its purpose – but also adequate skills to face the future. This meeting hosts a dialogue between a computer scientist, a developmental psychologist, and a digital education expert, to help us shed light on the educational task that awaits us. We want to first better understand the technologies around us, then discuss, based on the scientific evidence of recent years, the interaction between minors and screens, and the role of society, parents, and schools in educating to live well in a digitalized world.

With the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region