<![CDATA[Ara Balears in English - Technology]]> 10 <![CDATA['Homo tecnologicus': owners of the tool or slaves of the algorithm?]]> In mid-March, from the CCOO Teaching Federation in collaboration with the Federation of Pedagogical Renewal Movements and Ecologists in Action, we held the congress Technology and Education: an Ethical-Critical vision with speakers of the highest level. This congress was not for simple academic inertia, nor just another date on the calendar, but the result of a growing concern about the direction that new technologies have taken in the last decade. As we are immersed in a digital revolution, comparable to the industrial revolution of the 19th century. A revolution that is reconfiguring the human being into what we could call an Homo tecnologicus. However, this evolution does not seem to be neutral, and we must ask ourselves the question: Are we the ones who handle the tool, or is it the tool that shapes us?It is fundamental to understand that nothing in the digital world is neutral, both on the internet and in new artificial intelligence, information biases occur. This means that the results we see depend on sources that are not always objective, and today this power is concentrated in the hands of a few private companies, which by chance or causality, are among the richest on the planet: Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon (AWS).Some companies whose business model is not service, but the extraction and storage of data susceptible to be sold; because we often fall into the trap of believing that their services are free. However, in the digital economy, if you don't pay for the product, it's because you are the product. These companies have created authentic 'information farms' through algorithms – these invisible codes that decide what we see and what we don't – where they collect each of our data, movements and tastes to then sell this data to third parties. Databases designed to control our tastes and direct our consumption in a continuous, induced and compulsive manner; taking advantage of the fact that practically everyone has a smartphone available 24 hours a day.The lack of transparency in algorithms is not just a commercial problem; it can pose a democratic risk. This digital surveillance can have real consequences in fields as sensitive as law, economics, the world of work..., areas that must be urgently regulated. We cannot allow computer code to be a source of discrimination; if we do not scrutinize these processes, algorithms can become weapons of manipulation and bias, instead of instruments of progress. We need a legal framework that ensures technological processes are transparent, controllable by the user, and, above all, respectful of ethical principles. The storage of our data must be under the surveillance of representative social institutions, and not exclusively in the hands of private interests.But the impact is not only virtual, it is physical and environmental; technological development does not only stay on our screens; it has a physical and painful footprint on our planet. This excessive development often ignores that basic resources like water and energy are limited. Thousands of square kilometers are needed to store servers connected 24/7 with the necessary cooling for these data centers to function, with the resulting CO₂ emissions and the necessary use of nuclear energy for continuous operation.To manufacture batteries and devices themselves, materials such as coltan, cobalt, nickel, lithium, and other 'rare earths' are exploited; materials that are mostly extracted in mines where child labor is encouraged and toxic waste dumps are generated that severely pollute the environment; a bill that is mainly being paid by underdeveloped countries. And it can only be a true evolution if it is sustainable and respectful of human rights throughout its production chain. It is essential to responsibly manage waste, resource consumption, and the water footprint. Digital ethics must necessarily be ecological ethics.One of the most critical points of this digital revolution is how technology affects the most vulnerable, and this vulnerability is most evident in minors and especially in childhood. Digital platforms use seduction to trap us, the design of the infinite scroll –this screen that never ends and that loads content non-stop– is designed to capture our attention and generate what we now know as digital addiction. This compulsive behavior makes us lose track of time, generates immediate reward stimuli, and abusive consumption of these. The symptoms are already contrasted: anxiety when not connected, social isolation, neglect of responsibilities, lack of sleep, behavioral disorders, learning problems, lack of concentration... more than enough evidence to address this problem immediately.As educators, we view with concern how these effects, derived from screen saturation, manifest in classrooms; global reports such as PISA or GEM confirm a widespread decline in student competencies since the massive implementation of technology in educational centers. By moving so abruptly from analog to digital, essential construction processes and neural relationships for developing cognitive abilities in childhood have been lost. In many parts of the world, the return to paper, pencil, and textbooks is already being considered. And it seems we have made a conceptual error: we have confused educating in digital competence with educating through digital competence.It is not about criminalizing technology, but about demanding that it be at the service of people, social justice, and cultural plurality. It is urgent to legislate, both nationally and internationally, so that our data is protected and processes are transparent. We need to reclaim the role of technology to build a better world, and not as a tool that conditions our freedom and future.It is imperative that we stop being passive spectators of this transformation, we need brave legislation and strict regulation that ensures that technology is a driver of social justice, plurality and sustainability, and not a tool for manipulation. Technology must be a bridge to knowledge and equality; it is time for the Homo tecnologicus to regain sovereignty over their data, to demand a digital environment that protects children and respects the planet's limits. Only then will we achieve machines working for us, being owners of the tool and not slaves to its algorithms.

]]> <![CDATA[Slingers in Tehran]]> The war in the Middle East, re-premiered with the satanic aggression of the United States and Israel against the theocratic Iran, at first glance, has traces of an unprecedented technological dispute: artificial intelligence, automated interception systems and a digitized war economy. However, beneath this layer of modernity emerges a classic of the art of war, the tension between the material sophistication of power and the functional efficacy of simplicity, not exempt from intelligence and scientific and technical knowledge, reappears. A tension that has been accumulating in a heap of postcolonialist disagreements.Low-cost Iranian drones have become a symbol of the dialectic of simplicity. Tactical success against multi-million dollar armament systems points to the idea that effectiveness is not directly proportional to investment, but to strategic intelligence and adaptability. It is not surprising, therefore, that when it was discovered that these artifacts could become the star of the conflict, the comparison came to mind with the Balearic slingers of ancient Mediterranean times who, with minimal armament and refined technique, became a key part of the Carthaginian and Roman armies of the era.The connection is not merely anecdotal; in the comparison of the two systems –slingers and drones–, the power of the periphery is revealed against the monumentality of power, when it manages to articulate efficiency, ingenuity, and knowledge of the environment. The slingers were an example of this: a successful army, with low-cost equipment, although globally it might not have been so cheap. More than for its cost, it was appreciated for its mobility, lightness, and efficiency, the result of highly professional and disciplined behavior. The members of this troop had been formed and trained since childhood: legend has it that they did not eat until they had hit a target.Julius Caesar used them during the Gallic Wars as light infantry in the vanguard, which engaged just before the main clash of battle, often associating with Cretan archers. Caesar himself, in his Commentaries on the Gallic War, highlights their decisive role. Specifically, when speaking of the defense of the Roman fortified settlement of Bibrax, he says: “Upon their arrival, the Rems saw their protection guaranteed and their defensive ardor increased, and the enemies, for this very reason, lost hope of seizing the place”. In the Punic Wars, it was Hamilcar Barca who recruited them to form part of his army, especially in the campaigns in Sicily, against the Greeks, and in the conquest of Hispania, a feat never repeated by the islanders.In the current Middle East conflict, a logic similar to the one that gave international fame to slingers can be discerned. We could consider it ironic, but the technological accumulation of great powers does not guarantee strategic superiority; artificial intelligence is not equivalent to political intelligence. The only certainty is that large technology corporations, with contracts with the Pentagon and the armies of the United States and Israel, are very expensive for the taxpayers of these countries. They are the same companies that support Trump and the European far-right, against the EU, which intends to regulate their activity. Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Palantir, and SpaceX, among others, have an important business niche in war: these are the wars of capital.In this context, low-cost Iranian drones operate as a symbol of a tactical, economic, and adaptability rationality different from that of the great powers. Their effectiveness lies not in the accumulation of power, but in the intelligent management of scarcity. It is this dynamic that refers us to a deeper historical genealogy in time, in which marginal actors manage to influence global domination systems. And, indeed, the Balearic slingers embodied a unique relationship between technique, territory, and strategy. Equipped with exceptional expertise and minimal equipment, they became winners.The asymmetry of power and capacity between the adversaries that characterizes the conflict in the Middle East is explained by several reasons. In the aggressor countries (the US and Israel), two often contradictory circumstances have a powerful influence: (1) colonial intention and (2) the existence of democratic public opinions. Neither the United States nor Israel could withstand the number of victims from Iran. A formally democratic society, with rights to preserve, is obliged to have an advanced and expensive system of protection and interception. In addition to a sophisticated and complex machinery of destruction commensurate with their colonial interest.The fact that Iran is a theocratic regime, with no citizen rights to protect, means that public opinion is managed by the police, which allows it to focus its military strategy simply on inflicting harm on the enemy, both internal and external. There are no essential defense systems, only attack systems. There is no better defense than a good offense. Overall, the current digital war shows a growing symbiosis between political power, data economy, and technological militarization. Following Paul Virilio's dromological reasoning, in which speed is the basis of modern technological society, it could be said that instrumental speed has replaced territorial extension as the matrix of power. However, extreme acceleration does not guarantee dominance. An old Persian proverb says that “patience is a tree with bitter roots and sweet fruits”.

]]> <![CDATA[Is there a problem with AI?]]> Artificial intelligence is opening up a horizon of possibilities and challenges for many people, while others see it as a threat. Taking this debate seriously involves, first and foremost, trying to understand what this technology is and how it works in order to know what risks it poses and how we can minimize them. This is clearly seen in one of its most attractive uses: its predictive capacity.

]]> <![CDATA["AI has no memory and does not store our data"]]>

Pep Martorell is a physicist, holds a PhD in Computer Science, and is a partner at the management firm Invivo Partners, where he helps develop artificial intelligence (AI) projects. As an expert in the field, he will participate this Thursday, March 12, in the "Companies with a Human Face" symposium in Palma, to discuss the trends that will shape AI in the next decade.

]]> <![CDATA[Artificial fiction]]> Things seem to be moving very fast. In the field of AI, the devastating impact of technology on employment is becoming increasingly apparent, especially among the tech companies' own workers. It's within the companies that are driving AI development that AI itself is usurping the jobs of programmers, who realize that what they were helping to create was a competitor that would do the same thing they do, but much faster, better, and cheaper. I don't know what might happen to these professionals, although we know that certain technical profiles are highly sought after within tech companies. But all the experts are predicting it, some apocalyptic, others fully integrated into a system they now lament not knowing how to rein in: AI will be a revolution that will turn everything upside down.

]]> <![CDATA[Cognitive inequality]]> Several years after the pandemic, which accelerated the digitalization of society, children are arriving at our schools unable to even maintain eye contact, neither with each other nor with an adult. This is especially true for low-income families, because although screen use affects us all regardless of our circumstances, these families face the greatest difficulties in accessing educational and parenting resources for their children that don't involve the 'easy' solution of staying home and plugging into an increasingly complex screen—be it television, mobile phone, or other devices, thanks to the influence of the internet and social media. These children, like many teenagers, have socialized more with screens than with their peers, which would give them a certain 'mastery' of digital tools were it not for their lack of maturity for responsible use.

]]> <![CDATA[Courses to teach farmers how to defend themselves against bureaucracy]]>

A large proportion of farms in the Balearic Islands are run by older people who are increasingly facing greater bureaucracy and the digitalization of the sector. Furthermore, the COVID-19 crisis highlighted the usefulness of online procedures as a communication tool with the government. To help farmers navigate these administrative processes, Unió de Pagesos, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment, has organized two free training courses – funded by the Balearic Islands' Agricultural and Fisheries Guarantee Fund, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

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