Conference Agenda

Through digital technologies, computer science and generative artificial intelligence (AI), education is being expanded in almost every conceivable direction. Examples include: the ways in which knowledge is created, curated, synthesised, shared and accessed; opportunities for connectedness between learners and between learners and instructors; speed of tasks, for example data analysis; the development of new hybrid pedagogies; and the extension of our understanding of personhood and what it is to be 'real' or 'virtual' or (and certainly for young learners) almost seamlessly both. In this lecture, I consider the digital opportunities and challenges facing the university sector and implications for us as researchers, particularly in a period of financial constraint. Questions to be addressed include: (i) do we know what we want from digital technologies - especially developments in AI - to ensure researchers, teachers and learners in physical education and sport gain optimal benefit; (ii) how are we ensuring that technology creators and innovators are designing what we want and need; (iii) are we training professional educators in physical education and sport to thrive – and lead - in AI-enabled worlds; and (iv) is our research keeping up?