Emerging Technologies and Digital Impact

This unit explores contemporary and near‑future technologies—AI (GenAI and AGI concepts), 5G, quantum computing, Web 2.0/3.0, metaverse interoperability, sovereign identity, and authentication tools—and examines their practical, ethical, and business implications for digital communications. It builds on foundational digital skills from earlier units and prepares learners to synthesize technology, privacy, and workforce considerations in the culminating unit.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze emerging technologies (including GenAI, AGI discourse, 5G/private 5G, quantum computing, Web3/metaverse, and voice recognition) and identify at least three specific impacts each technology may have on digital communications practice and audience experience.
• Evaluate ethical, legal, and privacy considerations related to data practices, sovereign identity, and AI (including bias and regulation) and recommend at least two appropriate mitigation or compliance strategies (e.g., MFA, password managers, privacy‑by‑design) for a given scenario.
• Apply contemporary digital communication tools and strategies (e.g., voice assistants, GenAI workflows, interoperable metaverse principles, and online reputation management) to revise or produce a professional digital presence that demonstrates interoperability, accessibility, and secure identity practices.
• Demonstrate understanding of the future of work by synthesizing evidence on AI-driven displacement, reskilling, and Everything-as-a-Service business models to propose two concrete career-readiness or organizational adaptation actions for a selected role or industry.