The Young Academy sounds the alarm about the power of Big Tech

Technology has become an indispensable part of higher education: students, researchers and administrative staff are increasingly using digital platforms. However, the digital infrastructure of universities and universities of applied sciences is often outsourced to companies. This entails certain risks, warns De Jonge Akademie. This association of relatively young top scientists is therefore calling for a "fundamental change of course".

These tech companies collect personal and other data, and it is often unclear where this data ends up. Students also regularly have to share their personal data when using educational and exam software.

Losing control
Because institutions often outsource the development and management of digital systems, they risk losing control. They lack the necessary technological knowledge and are therefore unable to intervene when something goes wrong. This makes them vulnerable to so-called “vendor lock-in”: switching to another supplier becomes virtually impossible. 

This goes against the core values of science, such as autonomy, responsibility and academic freedom, according to De Jonge Akademie. It believes that educational institutions have a duty of care "to ensure a safe digital ecosystem for their staff and students".

Ethical
De Jonge Akademie therefore advises educational institutions to focus less on cost and ease of use when choosing ICT applications, but to consider the ethical consequences above all else. "Individual freedom, the right to privacy and the sustainable autonomy of scientific institutions" should be central. Institutions must collaborate more and be transparent when making important decisions.

The manifesto also warns against the use and development of AI technologies. When training AI models, it is often unclear what data is used to feed the model and how this is done. De Jonge Akademie is therefore calling for clear rules.

Open letter
De Jonge Akademie is not the only organization concerned about the rise of AI: last week, an open letter was published calling on higher education institutions to be critical about the introduction of AI technologies. It has now been signed by around 500 people, including lecturers, researchers and professors.

They are concerned about students' critical thinking skills, but also about “the values of ecological sustainability, human dignity, pedagogical safeguards, data privacy, scientific integrity and democracy”.