Making a sensible use of technology: the new frontier of Earth Education

Abstract

During his speech in front of the MIT students in 1931, A. Einstein, ahead of the times, was inviting to meditate about the influence that applied sciences have on the life of individuals and was concluding that it was bringing so little happiness even if it was saving work and making life easier. The reason was expressed in few remarkable words: "because we have not yet learned to make sensible use of it". Almost a century has passed by and yet we don't have even given the right attention to this dilemma. We live in the Information Age, and the world has changed fast in the last 25 years. We cannot deny that technology has created new and welcomed opportunities. Nevertheless, we didn't develop, at the same time, a culture that allows humanity to cope with the new technogenic society in a way that environment and men do not suffer the consequences of a fast and sometimes wild innovation. Digital technologies can give a great contribution to the creation of such a culture that makes a more thoughtful use of technology itself, in a world where a traditional culture more addressed to the contemplation of nature can coexist with responsible innovation. My presentation will give some hints in this direction with the conviction that Education can play a crucial role in the challenges that we expect in the near future.