Literacy beyond the classroom for lifelong learning and personal growth

These were important rites of passage for us, as a society. The progress of humanity depended on our ability to communicate effectively with each other, no matter what subject or discipline we were talking about.

But as an educator and a technologist, I can’t help but wonder what literacy means in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) galloping across the information super-highway that is the internet. Where all possible permutations and combinations of answers to every question the mind can think of, are just a few keystrokes away. And AI dutifully steps in to instantaneously aid comprehension and communication, whenever we get stuck.

There’s a sense of doom and despair around the idea of evolving the very definition of what it means to be literate, as we head into the second quarter of the 21st Century. Personally, I find the question exhilarating. ‘What comes next’ is my favourite thing to ruminate over as a parent, an educator, and a tech junkie, which is very subjective.

We often talk about realising the full potential of our children – a very important conversation, indeed. But do we ever pause to ask ourselves and each other if we’re realising the full potential of what it means to be educated? Educated, not just literate. There’s a massive difference between the two.

Literacy can give you the ability to read 100 books, but education is what keeps you from being clueless at the end of that 100-book journey. I feel, thatonce the definition of literacy evolves to encompass context, meaning, and customisation, literacy will go from being functional to aspirational. And only when that happens, we will finally be able to tap the full power of learning and education.

Sure, it may feel like a lazy way of communicating now, but when the first texters and tweeters sat behind their glowing screens and came up with a language system that would help them adapt their message to work within the immutable constraints of 140 or 160 characters, it was the clarion call of creativity, not a descent into anarchy.

How would you feel if I told you that this brave new world, in which to be literate means not just the ability to convey information, but to create a social context in which it can be experienced by both the communicator and the audience in a unique manner? That being literate involved not just technical proficiency, but the ability to assess your audience and adapt your tone, language, and message in a manner that best supports the objective you are trying to reach? Rhetoricians call this process (loosely) Kairos.

But none of this can happen until we first look at literacy as a process of lifelong learning that helps us grow and expand our minds and until emotional quotient (EQ), emotion, empathy, and inclusivity become the cornerstones of all learning. We write better code when we understand how women experience digital products differently than men, because of how cruel and unsafe the virtual world can be to her. We create better international policies and financial instruments when we are able to understand why the third world’s relationship with money is so vastly different from the first world. We innovate more with robots when we can perceive what true inaccessibility means in some of the remotest corners of the world. And the world becomes a more exciting place when all its weird and varied parts are able to talk to each other. Language might be a great starting point, but redefining literacy transcends tech, finance, AI, and so much more.

One of the most pressing concerns within AI and its rapid adoption is that of equity. While AI is learning from vast data sets, there is a real danger of it becoming an exclusionary force due tobeing heavily stacked in favour of those who have more and better access. We’ve grown up hearing that history is written by the victors. In the age of AI, the zeitgeist is simply the narrative of the privileged. We’re already seeing this with the racist ways in which even sophisticated AI tools have responded on being prodded to create content outside of a Eurocentric or American view of the world.

The only way we can put this genie back in the bottle is if we recalibrate the idea of literacy – all forms of literacy – as something that leads with the adaptability instead of standardisation of meaning and proficiency in rules and processes.

Evolve or die is almost a war cry within the startup world and literacy is no different.

This article is authored by Ravi Bhushan, founder & CEO, BrightCHAMPS.