Redefining Literacy in an Age of Intelligent Machines
After 25 years working across education, communications, and technology, a clearer understanding of literacy began to take shape. What once felt like separate experiences, including studying English literature, working in communications at CBC/Radio-Canada, building an IT company, and contributing to AI education initiatives, gradually revealed a progression, with each step building on the last. It became clear that literacy meant more than reading and writing. From reading, writing, and numeracy, to writing lines of code, and now to interacting with AI systems that input and output data, each stage of learning relies on skills, tools, and methods to transform information into knowledge and communicate it with others. Pencils and paper are of little use without the ability to interpret and express what they contain, just as knowing how to code is of limited use without a computer. From the patterns, a set of questions emerged.
What does it mean to be literate? What is the role of education? Why do we spend so many years in school (if we are fortunate enough to do so)?
These questions were familiar. I left school at seventeen, feeling it lacked purpose, only to realise that working for minimum wage in a local shop offered little more. I later enrolled at university as an independent student, choosing English Literature, a subject I loved for its ability to examine the human condition in all its complexity. Through my studies, I also learned an uncomfortable lesson: those who first gained the ability to read, write, publish, and preserve their words were predominantly white men. Only a small fraction of the population held the power to record stories and shape history. Years later, when I co-founded a tech company and faced my own lack of coding literacy, the pattern appeared again. Those creating the digital world with lines of code were, once more, predominantly white men.
So what needed to change?
Education, whether in the classroom, in the community, or at home, provides the space to shape values, relationships, and academic knowledge. It is in these learning environments that individuals learn to understand themselves and others, discover their strengths, and build the confidence to engage constructively in the world. These spaces connect shared values, cultural understanding, and a sense of belonging, while passing on the skills that allow people to create and communicate, both socially and economically, as active and engaged citizens. It is also in these spaces that literacy is nurtured and developed over time.
Literacy and education are inseparable. From homes to classrooms to libraries, we practise the skills that allow us to understand and be understood. Literacy not only provides the opportunity for expression and engagement, but is also closely linked to the health and wellbeing of individuals. According to UNESCO, literacy drives sustainable development, expands opportunity, improves health, and reduces poverty.
While there are many definitions of what it means to be literate, my goal over the past few years, through research and writing, has been to understand the patterns I have been observing and what literacy means for our role in society. Literacy can be defined as the socially valued skills, knowledge, and tools needed to create, communicate, and understand information. We are literate when we can access data, transform it into knowledge, and respond meaningfully within the systems around us. Literacy strengthens agency, the capacity to advocate for oneself and to participate independently in daily life, much of which now unfolds in a digital environment.
Historically, literacy enabled economic and social growth, and helped populations not only record history but also navigate change. During the Enlightenment period, education became more widely accessible, driven by the belief that informed citizens could contribute to progress in science, governance, and society. The First Industrial Revolution further entrenched public education as economies shifted towards mass production, contributing to the introduction of child labour laws and compulsory schooling. Children moved from factories into classrooms, where reading, writing, and numeracy were integrated into daily learning. Reading allowed individuals to access and interpret information beyond their immediate environment. Writing enabled them to record, communicate, and participate in civic life. Numeracy supported trade and the emerging demands of industrial economies. Together, these foundational literacies provided the skills and tools necessary to communicate more expansively, and to manage information in an increasingly structured society. The Second Industrial Revolution expanded this model, putting in place structures, including mass, standardized schooling, underscoring how deeply the priorities of that period continue to influence learning today.
This progression continued into the Third Industrial Revolution. Reading, writing, and numeracy provided the foundation for the creation of computer programming languages and the development of the digital world. These core literacies enabled humans to design structured systems of symbols, logic, and syntax that allow communication with machines. Programming languages did not emerge independently of traditional literacy; they were built using it, requiring the ability to interpret text, apply mathematical reasoning, and organise information in precise ways. It was humans who created programming languages, translating human knowledge into formats that machines could process and, in doing so, shaping the digital systems that underpin modern life.
Today, this trajectory continues with artificial intelligence, requiring a deeper and more critical form of literacy. It is no longer enough to access and interpret information. Individuals must also understand how that information is generated, and understand the ethical implications for people and our planet. AI systems do not think or understand in human terms. They identify patterns in data and predict likely outputs, which can create the impression of understanding without true comprehension. Without this awareness, it is easy to mistake fluency for accuracy. AI literacy therefore requires critical questioning: how was this information created, what data was used, what might be missing, and who designed the system? These questions support more informed and reflective engagement with technology, helping individuals navigate a digital environment where information is abundant but not always reliable.
At the same time, this technological shift highlights the importance of distinctly human strengths. While machines can process information at speed and scale, they do not possess lived experience, emotional understanding, or moral judgement. Human capabilities such as communication, empathy, creativity, and critical thinking remain essential for interpreting information and engaging meaningfully with others. Communication enables individuals to express ideas clearly and listen across differences, particularly in digital spaces where misunderstanding can spread quickly and communication moves easily across invisible borders. Empathy allows people to consider perspectives beyond their own, strengthening relationships and supporting collaboration. Creativity supports the ability to imagine alternatives, approach problems from multiple angles, and generate new ideas that are not bound by existing data. Critical thinking helps individuals question assumptions, evaluate sources, and make reasoned decisions in complex environments.
These human strengths are not separate from literacy but are deeply embedded within it. Curiosity drives the desire to ask questions and seek understanding, supporting deeper engagement with information, increasing motivation, and enhancing learning. Imagination allows individuals to explore possibilities and understand different perspectives, playing a role in ethical reasoning. Play supports experimentation and discovery, particularly through making and exploration. Together, these capacities strengthen how individuals interact with knowledge, moving beyond passive consumption towards active participation.
As AI systems become more present in education, the purpose of learning remains consistent. Education prepares individuals to participate in society, contribute economically, and communicate ideas. Literacy remains central to this purpose, including the ability to interpret systems, understand how information is generated, and engage critically with digital environments. Alongside this, human strengths must be nurtured deliberately. Learners need opportunities to collaborate, discuss, create, and reflect with different ideas and in different environments, building the confidence and adaptability required to navigate uncertainty.
International frameworks reflect this evolving understanding. Organisations such as the OECD and UNESCO emphasise the importance of combining technical knowledge with human skills, recognising that both are necessary for meaningful participation in an increasingly complex world. Literacy enables individuals not only to access information but to transform it into knowledge, communicate it effectively, and apply it in ways that contribute to society.
In a time of rapid technological change, the goal is not to replace existing forms of literacy but to expand them. Reading, writing, and numeracy remain essential foundations, supporting newer forms such as computing and AI literacy. Education continues to be one of the most consistent tools for empowerment, providing a foundation for opportunity, participation, and belonging. When individuals are equipped with both the technical understanding and the human capabilities to engage with the world around them, they are better positioned to navigate complexity, contribute meaningfully, and shape the future rather than simply respond to it.
When we are equipped with the tools and skills to interpret information, share knowledge, and shape it into stories, we are offered the gift of literacy — and an invitation to belong.
