##al predictions. profiling permits the personalisation of services, but it can also lead to unfair discrimination ; in the united states, for example, some cases have emerged of discrimination based on ethnicity and gender. in the broader context of data protection legislation, the european union has built safeguards against algorithmic bias, which include the right to refuse to be “ subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling ”. in the financial sector, this norm applies to decisions on credit and insurance. financial education would further help to make people aware of the implications of their digital activity, of the use made of their data, and of their rights. an appropriate education would also contribute to limiting the “ digital divide ”, that is the lack of opportunities available to people without access to the internet. as the diffusion of digital devices is becoming more global and their complexity grows, access to opportunities will depend not simply on having the information and communication tools, but also on having the skills needed to use them. expanding the content of education alone is, however, not sufficient. as tullio de mauro, the great italian professor of linguistics and former minister of education, pointed out some years ago, in many countries school life has been governed by three principles : “ first, silent listening in class to the lesson of the teacher who explains, between the chair and the blackboard, what is already written in the book ; second, studying the book at home, with exercises ; third, back to class with questions to verify the studying of the book ”. this traditional method where knowledge is passively imparted from teachers to students is no longer enough. history, arts, literature, languages, mathematics, science, economics will have to be taught in a dynamic context with sufficient room to stimulate creativity, intellectual curiosity, discussion and negotiation with other students, the ability to cooperate, enhance respect for others and foster ethical behaviour. digitalisation should not become a prison : it is necessary to learn about it, but we also have to be able to debate its merits and be prepared for the tools that will be used in the future. as malala yousafzai, the pakistani activist for the right to education and the youngest ever nobel prize laureate, reminded us in 2013 : “ one child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world ”. in the quest for a better world today, we could also add new “ digital devices ”, when used properly, to this list. improving

as low - education food service jobs, home aides, security services. job opportunities have instead fallen in “ white - collar ” administrative and sales occupations and in middle - skill “ blue - collar ” production, craft, and repairs. this decline is detrimental to the earnings and the participation rates of the middle - class, affecting, in particular, workers without a tertiary education. new technologies are also having a multifaceted impact on labour intensity ( as measured by the average number of hours worked per worker ). bear in mind that, in advanced countries, an important secular trend had been the decline in the average hours worked per worker, which moved in tandem with increases in productivity and wages. in recent decades, however, these trends seem to have changed. labour intensity, in particular, has shown a “ bifurcation ”. on one hand, a substantial portion of the global labour force now works very long hours ( more than 48 hours per week ). on the other hand, there has been a growth of ( often involuntary ) short - hour and part - time contracts, with the most famous example probably being the so - called “ mini jobs ” in germany. although more research is needed to fully understand the causes of both phenomena, technology seems to have contributed to amplifying them. for those who work more, for example, business smartphones and other digital devices may have blurred the boundaries between work and private life, further increasing the number of hours worked. on the other hand, the so - called “ gig economy jobs ” ( micro tasks, crowdworking, manual services ) have fuelled “ time - related underemployment ”, a form of labour underutilisation affecting those who would be willing to increase their working hours but are unable to do so. which policies should be designed and implemented to contain the economic and social costs due to higher automation and digitalisation? my view is that the most important response should be to prioritise investment in education : investment that must be inclusive because, as recently argued by pope francis, “ every change calls for an educational process that involves everyone ”. in italy, for example, the challenge of raising human capital is especially important. data show that, compared to other advanced countries, italians spend less time in education, they learn less and, once they are in the workplace, participate in less professional training. as the labour market participation is also low, this brings the share of young people who are referred to as “ neet