From Hunter-Gatherers to Information Age: Society’s Transformation
Theme 2: The Society of Information and Knowledge
Historical Perspective: From Hunter-Gatherers to the Information Society
We live in a society characterized by constant change and evolution, primarily related to industry, information, and telecommunications. To understand this transition and its effects, we’ll examine two pivotal changes: the agricultural and industrial revolutions.
The Agricultural Revolution (8000 BC)
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived as hunter-gatherers. This phase shifted as people adopted agriculture and livestock, creating a social structure revolution. This led to cultural innovation, including new technologies and social institutions, along with religions featuring festivals, ceremonies, and customs.
The Industrial Revolution (1800)
This period saw numerous inquiries and improvements in agriculture and the economy, leading to strong population growth. People migrated to towns, fostering consumer goods production and changing factory organization. The Industrial Revolution shifted society’s focus from agriculture to urban, factory-centered production.
The Information Revolution (1971)
The rise and spread of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have created the computer revolution, leading to the information and knowledge society. Key events include:
1) Global Telecommunications: Inventions like the telephone and television evolved into vital information channels.
2) The Birth of the Microcomputer: The 1971 microprocessor and 1975 personal computers became essential tools across various human activities.
3) A Global Economic System Based on Information Processing and Communication: Globalization led to new dynamics in the global economic system.
4) Competitiveness and Information: Market success requires continuous improvement, innovation, and data utilization.
5) Productivity: Globalization compels companies to increase productivity to remain competitive.
6) A New Society: Governed by ubiquitous telecommunications, impacting governments, institutions, and homes, particularly in developed countries.
Technological and Cultural Revolution in Relation to ICTs: Digital Literacy
Technologies for storing and transmitting information have changed dramatically, with significant social consequences. The gap between technological possibilities and their societal use suggests the real revolution is just beginning. We are entering a cultural revolution where technology access becomes natural. Otherwise, a new form of illiteracy may emerge, marginalizing those who don’t understand the new codes. Ensuring universal access to these technologies and training is crucial, addressing both economic barriers and a general lack of knowledge about communication technology.
Concept of Information Society and Knowledge
State of the Question
A new way of understanding culture is emerging, with information as a key element. The information society is seen as the successor to industrial society, focusing on education, health, information, environment, and leisure, shaping what’s called post-industrial society. The creation, distribution, and manipulation of information are central to cultural and economic activities.
Role of Education
Media education empowers students to:
- Acquire skills and attitudes for communicating using different languages and media.
- Develop personal autonomy and critical thinking for effective decision-making in a just and intercultural society.
Twofold:
- Opposition to certain risks of new technologies.
- Promote the development of entrepreneurial, creative, and adaptable individuals.
Technological literacy is integral for a technological culture. Teachers’ attitudes towards technology in the classroom vary:
- Pragmatic: Using and adapting new technologies without question.
- Critical: Accepting new technologies while analyzing their implications for society, avoiding disqualification and promoting open communication and consensus.
Knowledge Society
While knowledge is based on information, information alone doesn’t generate knowledge. Transforming information into knowledge requires strategies for processing and reflection. Knowledge is conceptual and qualitative, applied to activities, processes, and products. The generation, reproduction, distribution, and application of ideas are the raw material of the knowledge society. The information society refers to the massive expansion of new information and its consequences.
Definition of Basic Concepts Related to Knowledge Management
Knowledge management (KM) is complex, encompassing individual, team, and organizational knowledge. It’s crucial to distinguish between information and knowledge:
- Information: Verbal, numerical, graphical, or other data with specific meaning within a context, aimed at communication.
- Knowledge: The ability to act based on information, understanding phenomena, and applying skills.
Knowledge helps determine:
- How to act in certain circumstances.
- How to carry out work from instructions.
- How to develop strategies for specific results.
Comparison:
- Knowledge: Requires a knowing subject, provides ability, and its transfer takes time through teaching-learning and experimentation.
- Information: Exists independently, access doesn’t imply ability, and transmission is immediate with proper support.
Knowledge management is a set of activities and practices for efficient acquisition and use of knowledge and associated abilities.
Characteristics of the Information Society: Speeches
- Mercantilist: The information society is a huge market with economic growth potential driven by digital technologies.
- Critical-Political: Digital technologies should serve social and human development, not corporate interests.
- Technocentrist: Digital technology is mythified as a panacea for efficiency and well-being.
- Apocalyptic: Information and communication technologies represent the end of modern ideals and humanistic culture.