E-Journal of Philosophy of Education:
International Yearbook of the Philosophy of Education Society of Japan, Vol. 7, 2022

The Challenges for the Philosophy of Education in a “DataDriven Society”: Reconsidering “Data,” “Information” and“Knowledge” for the Future of Education
Yoshimitsu MATSUURA
Keio University
Ryohei MATSUSHITA
Mukogawa Women’s University
Purpose of the Discussion
What impact will the Fourth Industrial Revolution which is bringing about the newvision of society, such as so-called “Society 5.0” or “Data-Driven Society” have on thenature and concept of “education” and “human beings”? The new society will becharacterized by an expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), utilization of big data
through artificial intelligence (AI), the development and spread of robotics, and otherrapidly advancing innovations. How would education and learning in the new society betransformed or how should we transform them?
Considering the issue of education in the new society, we tend to focus on it as amethod to develop human resources for innovation and new technologies. There is also
a position, as is evident in the discussion of “Singularity” that reads the future oftechnology and human beings as conflicts or confrontations and attempts to conceive ofeducation as countermeasures against them (e.g., “Education will never lose to AI.”)
What these discussions have in common, however, is the concept of education todevelop useful human resources in response to changes in the social structure. This is,
so to speak, an “educational technology” approach. Though it is clear that education
plays a functional role in responding to changes in society, this approach is based on theidea and concept of education that prevailed after the Industrial Revolution (Society 3.0),
when education was organized and institutionalized on a global scale as a powerfuldevice contributing to the development of nation-states and their economic and industrial
Correspondence:
Yoshimitsu MATSUURA, Keio University. Email: ymatsuur@keio.jp
Ryohei MATSUSHITA, Mukogawa Women’s University. Email: matsushitaryohei@gmail.com

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Y. MATSUURA & R. MATSUSHITA

growth. In the new society (Society 5.0), following the information society (Society4.0), which is envisioned as a “human-centered society that achieves both economic
development and solutions to social issues through a system that highly integrates
cyberspace (virtual space) and physical (real) space,” these ideas and concepts ofeducation and human have become the dominant conception. Will the ideas andconcepts of education and human be retained in this new society (Society 5.0)? The
philosophy of education has its own challenges in dealing with the advent of a newsociety brought about by rapid technological innovation.
In particular, the innovation currently underway is forcing a fundamental
redefinition of the concepts of “data,” “information,” “knowledge” and theirinterrelationships which have served as the foundation of human intellectual capacity.
This in turn calls for a transformation of the modes of learning and education themselves.
This discussion aims to look at the transformation of the nature and concept ofeducation and learning in the new society, and to clarify the theoretical and philosophicalissues as well as the practical challenges. We will also focus on the reconstruction of
the relationship and meaning of “data,” “information,” and “knowledge” in the newsociety, and deepen our discussion on how these changes will affect the practice andtheory of education in the future.

Points of the Discussion
1. General discussion of current trends in AI and other innovations and theireducational and humanistic implications.
2. Discussion on the reconstruction of the relationship between “data,” “information,”and “knowledge” in a “data-driven society” and its impact on the nature and concept ofeducation.
3. Discussion on the challenges and implications of a “data-driven society” on
educational academic research and philosophy of education.

Thematic Research: The Challenges for the Philosophy of Education in a “Data-Driven Society”: Reconsidering“Data,” “Information” and “Knowledge” for the Future of Education