IB Digital Society 5.1 Global Well-being Key Definitions

The use of technology to perform tasks without human intervention.

Long-term shifts in global or regional climate patterns, often linked to human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

The gap between people who have reliable access to digital systems and the skills to use them and those who do not, a gap that tends to follow existing lines of income, age, geography, and ability.

An official, often biometric, system that gives each person a unique identity a state or service can verify. It can unlock access to benefits, banking, and services and bring the undocumented into the system, but it can also exclude those who cannot enrol and concentrate sensitive data in one place.

Technologies, applications, and platforms that create, store, process, and distribute digital data and information. Smartphones, social media platforms, AI assistants, and robots are all digital systems.

Giving people access to useful, affordable financial services such as saving, sending money, and borrowing. Digital tools like mobile money can extend it to those without a bank account, though access still depends on a device and network and is set by private providers.

AI that produces new text, images, audio, or code by learning patterns from vast training data. It is a powerful form of narrow AI, not a general intelligence, despite how capable it can seem.

An economy in which people offer short-term services and commissions via digital technologies.

The movement of people from one place to another, often for work, safety, or better living conditions.

Learning new skills so that a worker can move into a different role, often because automation or digital change has reduced the need for their previous job.

An urban area that uses networked sensors, data, and digital systems to run and optimise its services, such as traffic, energy, water, and waste. The aim is greater efficiency and quality of life, though it also raises questions about surveillance, data control, and who benefits.

The physical or virtual environment where interactions occur.

The delivery of healthcare at a distance using digital networks, for example video consultations, remote messaging, and connected home devices. It can widen access to care but depends on having a device, connectivity, and digital confidence.