In the North East, the percentage of people considered digitally excluded is the highest in the UK, due to a series of factors that have contributed to this exclusion. People who are financially vulnerable or live with a condition that impairs their use of communication services are more likely to be digitally excluded, and more easily being left behind when technology rapidly grows in every field.
Previous research from different groups and studies have also found that young people, although using digital technology and devices to access social media, do not know exactly what ‘digital skills’ mean in terms of career advancement or different types of software and systems that are part of different jobs.
The old classification of professions do not match today’s demands or offers, leaving people confused and not knowing how to plan a career for the future.
For the past four years, during and after Covid and lockdown, Culture Healing Communities has been doing annual surveys, researching the use and application of AI, the use of 3D visualisation, 3D modelling, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, LIDAR, photogrammetry, multistation scanning, Global Positioning System (GPS), and 3D, that have been advanced and used in many areas, not only in heritage, but also in jobs, and even mental wellbeing.
The results show that vulnerability in different groups has changed, in terms of digital knowledge and skills, with young people, ethnic minorities and disabled identified as the most affected ones, either by lack of digital skills or by lack of means to learn and apply this knowledge.
We have been working on the ethics of the use of AI and its impact in projects and work related to the deceased and their exploitation by companies and websites.
With our research and work, we aim to:
- Address ethnic minority groups’ heritage, culture and history, including their contribution to local heritage and raising awareness for the fact that it is heritage at risk
- Connect a heritage exhibitions and research to the use of digital technologies in different situations and careers
- Introduce workshops and sessions for young people aiming to open their horizons to these technologies and showing them that they can access these careers, without prejudice of background, ethnicity and social obstacles
- Stimulate the interest to learn about these technologies through the study of heritage, addressing the inclusion of elderly people and the potential obstacles they may feel, researching the use of AI in daily life and remain alert for the ethics of its incorporation in different aspects of people's lives
- Generate an effective partnerships between community organisations, vital educational establishments and organisations at the forefront of multiculturalism, exhibitions, innovation and diversity, to present a unique concept of using heritage to showcase digital technologies that are applied in specific careers and jobs for the future
- Aim to support and mentor the future generations of digital citizens, to be part of the most advanced society, based on showing how jobs are using those technologies and preparing people for a competitive future
- Address the results of surveys on the digital divide, which include a lack of awareness regarding Smart Cities, society’s future, security using online tools and services, how to incorporate AI on their daily lives, clarifying fears, insecurities and promoting a safe digital identity and contributing to the eradication of digital poverty
- Create a chain of contributors to this concept, including schools, organisations, Councils, and the North East Combined Authority, as-well as inviting participation of those that can provide equipment and services to less financially-able users