Why did you launch this “human adventure”?
Patrick de la Hamette: In 2015, after the war in Syria, there were major migratory movements that led to people arriving here. I met some of them, engineering students or computer addicts, and it was hard for them to be forced into inactivity. Our first idea was to give them something of value to do: to give new life to equipment and produce something together. Throughout the world, IT is the same technology, regardless of culture or language. It is transversal and universal.
But there is another element that is stronger abroad than here: in Luxembourg, labour is expensive, and so are repairs. So people often buy rather than repair. We have found that people in the Middle East and other countries have more repair skills and are more committed to maintaining the residual value of appliances.
The starting point is a circular economy approach...
Yes. In 2015, before the association was officially created, I launched an appeal for donations on my Facebook account. Then, in my attic, we took care of small repairs. Today, distributing free IT equipment to refugees, but also to needy residents who receive the cost of living allowance, is only part of what we do. Our strength is speed. If we receive a computer donation, we put it back into circulation as quickly as possible because we want to have an impact on the durability of the product. A product may be modern, but if you don’t use it, it quickly becomes obsolete. Our other strong point in this area is our waiting list, which operates chronologically. We also offer smartphones, but in a different way, with a voucher system, which we distribute to the Red Cross, Caritas and social services, who then decide on emergency cases.
What else does Digital Inclusion do?
Co-founded with sociologist Isabelle Mousset, who has now left on a development aid mission for the government, we officially registered the association in March 2016. Another sociologist, Anna Szymanska, has since joined us and helped build the project. As well as distributing materials, we wanted to commit ourselves to providing a service that was in some way public. So we launched a participatory workshop on repairs in the first year, followed by courses, and from 2018, the courses were officially covered by an agreement with the ministry of labour.
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Today, we have a link with the ministry for family affairs. One of our guidelines is multidisciplinarity. We have engineers, computer scientists, sociologists, a legal expert, a specialist in the circular economy, etc.
How do you define digital inclusion?
Like universal access to information and communication technologies and to the digital world in the broadest sense. In our context, this means that everyone must have access to equipment, regardless of their financial situation, or their migratory or linguistic background, and that everyone must have access to the knowhow to handle the equipment, and reach a level from which they can continue to train independently.
Has the pandemic changed anything in terms of digital inclusion?
We were aware of the needs well before covid. But the pandemic put everyone on the same page. Everyone understood that digital inclusion was important. Twenty years ago, if you didn’t have a computer, it wasn't a problem. Today, for someone who needs to integrate, it has become more important than ever. In Luxembourg, many people couldn’t afford one, because poverty is real, even if we are often tempted to turn a blind eye. Most of society is well equipped, but that makes it even harder for those who are not.
The aim of our courses is to help people achieve digital independence.
Digital inclusion is based on the ‘access-materials-skills’ triptych?
Yes. Not necessarily very advanced skills, but the basics of computer education that can then be used to train independently. In our courses, the aim is not to learn how to handle Photoshop or specialised software, but to enable people to become digitally independent; to create an e-mail address, write and send an email, solve a few problems, carry out Google searches, etc.
Behind this, there is another important aspect that does not fall within our remit: access to the Internet. But this is a market with its own codes. Recently, the government said it wanted to invest in helping people in precarious situations to pay their fixed Internet bill. That could be a good thing.
Why is digital inclusion essential? What are the risks for those on the margins?
With the digital transition, more and more everyday services are becoming digital. Not having a computer is a risk of discrimination. The context is changing rapidly and not having the technical means or know-how can create digital exclusion, which ultimately leads to social exclusion. This is even more complicated for people who are already in a position where they have to integrate. For example, email is often the first point of entry for people who want to use a service. Exclusion can become a vicious circle, with the risk of a widening divide and of digital exclusion becoming an amplifier of insecurity. Those who don’t use computers don't necessarily lose out immediately, but they will end up losing out as others evolve at the pace of technology.
How long does it take for someone to become digitally independent?
Our courses are fairly compact. There are about four sessions per course programme. It’s fair to say that in a few months, our students have acquired the knowhow that will enable them to train on their own afterwards.
Is it fair to say that there is a digital divide in Luxembourg?
Yes, of course, starting with access to equipment. On the train, when we look around us, we get the impression that everyone is hyper-connected. On their smartphones, people are using Instagram, Tiktok and other applications. In my opinion, the divide has become much more subtle. It used to be clear that when we talked about the digital divide, we were referring to people who had never had digital tools.
Today, we see that people have very good smartphones, that they know how to use them very well, but for all that, they don’t always have the skills to handle a computer and produce digital content easily and cleanly. This is what I would call a second degree divide, because it’s not directly visible. We have people who spend all day in front of a telephone screen, but who are unable to generate a PDF file from a document.
The more technologies there are, the more risks there are. The complexity and diversity of the digital world have increased tenfold, so it’s inevitably more complex to defend yourself in this context.
How do you explain this?
It’s due to the transformation of the ecosystem. In a way, IT has become more universal and it’s now very easy to operate a GPS or communicate on Whatsapp. We also see that each application is competing to be the most intuitive, the easiest to use, and it sometimes replaces other tools. Why communicate by email if you can do it more easily on Whatsapp? In the end, we’re selling our digital autonomy a little, because we’re naturally moving towards what seems easier and faster. The operator market has understood this and is trying to create bubbles to trap the user in.
What do you think of the development of AI? Is it an opportunity or a hindrance in terms of digital inclusion?
Generally speaking, artificial intelligence can help solve problems that we couldn’t solve on our own. For example, if I don’t speak French, thanks to AI I can still write a letter in French. Sometimes certain administrations or organisations require letters to be written in French. It’s not fair, but it’s not illegal. AI can help get round this barrier. Advances in information technology provide opportunities to become autonomous, and I believe that this is the strength of information technology: being able to manage on your own and learn on your own. At Digital Inclusion, our first mission is to open that door. This enables people to acquire new skills and opportunities that will help them to move up the social ladder.
AI and its applications can also be a source of danger. Take the example of deepfakes which seem to be increasingly real...
Yes, this is a dimension that we include in our courses. We explain the risks, the risk of phishing associated with emails for example. The more technologies there are, the more risks there are. The complexity and diversity of the digital world have increased tenfold, so it’s inevitably more complex to defend yourself in this context. What’s more, the internet is universal, so there’s a whole industry of internet scams today, and the differences in prosperity between countries, for example, also generate this type of phenomenon. In the end, it’s a bit like showing a child how to cross the road: you try to do it as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. Every technological change opens the door to new abuses, because criminals also take advantage of these advances. What we trusted before, we can trust much less now, and from now on, we should never trust what we think we recognise.
The users
Since all these technologies are developing fast, won’t we always be behind when it comes to inclusion?
Yes, there is a risk that the gap will widen in the face of the increasing speed of technological developments. There is also a risk that exclusion will become increasingly subtle. In any case, a new gap will emerge in the use of these tools.
So whether you're a seasoned user or not, ongoing training is a necessity?
Exactly. Someone who trained in technological tools at the time of the pandemic to bring themselves up to speed is already behind today in 2024 with AI. The same gap can become exponential. We are dealing with generations that see technological change more than any other generation. And we’re likely to see further exciting developments. Personally, I’m confident, and tell myself that if humanity doesn’t manage to reduce the number of wars, perhaps a technological disruption could sort things out. If we stay as we are today, I don’t know if we’ll manage to reduce conflicts and global warming, but maybe artificial intelligence could be the opportunity that changes everything, for a better world, I hope…
8,000
The number of computers distributed free of charge since 2015. There are also 1,000 smartphones. In total, between 3,000 and 4,000 students have been welcomed since the association was set up, along with around a hundred volunteers.
This article was written for theissue of Paperjam magazine, published on 19 June. The content of the magazine is produced exclusively for the magazine. It is published on the website as a contribution to the complete Paperjam archive.
This article was originally published in .