Digitization, Disruption, and the “Society of Singularities”: The Transformative Power of the Global Education Industry

Abstract

Digitization and algorithmization in education refer to a variety of phenomena spanning the whole range from the “nice to have” to a revolution in educational provision, a true disruption of how, where, and also by whom students are educated. The main narrative of digitization suggests improved, enhanced, or augmented learning experiences and rarely mentions a radical systems overhaul. However, as the global education industry (GEI) is closely linked to key players and stakeholders of technological development, who usually have a strong faith in disruptive innovation, the GEI may be said to pursue a specific agenda. This agenda is reinforced by overall societal trends that have been recently described by the German sociologist Andreas Reckwitz as the society of singularities. This chapter explores the implications of this analysis for GEI.