Learning in the Age of Networked Intelligence

To put the discussion in a context of social change, the paper starts with a brief review of Niklas Luhmann’s analysis of the social function of education. The paper then zooms in to a more historical description of socio-economic transformations, with the aim at highlighting the distinguishing characteristics of the ongoing transformation towards the innovation economy and knowledge society. Specifically, the paper elaborates the changing dynamics of production models, arguing that in the last few years we have been in a globalization process that is qualitatively different from the earlier ones. This new model has consequences, for example, for skill demands and their regional distribution. A historical description of production models is useful, as educational institutions are optimized for the requirements of the past production models.