{"id":29644,"date":"2021-11-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/noticias\/from-digital-users-to-responsible-and-aware-citizens\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T11:37:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T10:37:33","slug":"from-digital-users-to-responsible-and-aware-citizens","status":"publish","type":"noticias","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/en\/news\/from-digital-users-to-responsible-and-aware-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"From digital users to responsible and aware citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Could we be left without Internet? Could someone sabotage her? Could we live without it? And, the key question, can we live in a digitalized world, avoiding the most insane part of it? We chatted with Esther Paniagua<\/strong><\/a> following the publication of her book ERROR 404: Are you ready for a world without the internet?<\/em><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

Esther is a journalist and author specializing in science and technology. She collaborates with media such as El Pa\u00eds, Xataka or Muy Interesante and is a professor in the Executive Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence. She has been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Women Leaders in Spain<\/g>” in 2019 and included in the Forbes Top 100 Most Creative People in Business<\/g> list. In addition, she is the author of our reports Artificial Intelligence<\/em><\/a>, Big Data, the Power of Data<\/em><\/a> and Disruptive Business Models<\/em><\/a> and has received various awards and recognitions such as the Vodafone Award for Journalism in Economics or the Roche Award for Journalism in Personalized and Precision Medicine. <\/p>\n\n

In her book, a meticulously documented essay, Esther makes a diagnosis of the state of the Internet and digitalization in the world<\/strong>, pointing out both its benefits \u2013 new ways of communicating, working, collaborating, being supportive, living \u2013 and its most toxic parts \u2013 crime, addiction, manipulation, misinformation, discrimination, bias, censorship, repression. <\/p>\n\n

But it doesn’t stop there. After the diagnosis, come the proposals for solutions. And that’s what makes this book enlightening, courageous, and motivating. <\/p>\n\n

Esther tells us that we are in time to rethink and recreate the Internet<\/strong>, so that toxicity is reduced to a minimum and the opportunities to live in a better world are maximized. Doing so is not easy, nor quick, nor obvious. But it can be done. <\/p>\n\n

How to rethink the Internet?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n

There are two central ideas: <\/p>\n\n

1.- <\/strong>Digital governance <\/strong>should be guided by the individual and social values to be protected, and not by technology. <\/p>\n\n

2.- <\/strong>On an individual and collective level, we must take responsibility and raise awareness. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

In her book, Esther explains how to approach each of these ideas and provides proposals and a multitude of references to initiatives that are already underway. It is about addressing solutions in the following areas: Individual, Collective, Government and Business. <\/p>\n\n

1.- Individual<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n

On an individual level, the key is critical thinking<\/strong> and education<\/strong> from childhood. Being a “digital native” does not imply knowing the threats and dangers of the digital environment. We can do a lot individually if we equip ourselves with minimum skills in cybersecurity and in precautions against misinformation and manipulation. <\/p>\n\n

2.- Collective<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n

Civil society has a lot to say. This is also what the expert of the Future Trends Forum, Henry De Sio<\/strong><\/a> , pointed out to us in a recent interview<\/a> on the “changemaker effect”. <\/p>\n\n

There are a multitude of initiatives to rethink and recreate the Internet as a free, open and supportive space, which Esther points out in her book. <\/p>\n\n

By way of example, we point out: <\/p>\n\n