25 Aug 2026 Digital justice and Artificial Intelligence in Georgia: Who has a voice in the future?

Nino Todua

When we speak about the digital future, we often imagine technology first: fast internet, new platforms, artificial intelligence, automated systems, or applications that make everyday life easier. But from the perspective of Georgia, the digital future is not only a question of technological progress. It is also a question of justice, equality, language, participation, and who has the opportunity not only to use technology, but also to understand it, question it, and help shape it.

Georgia is a small country in the South Caucasus with a rich cultural, linguistic, and historical heritage. In recent years, digital services, online education, social media, and technological tools have become more widely used across the country. Citizens use the internet every day to receive information, communicate, study, access banking services, interact with public institutions, and participate in social life. At first glance, it may seem that digital development is moving forward quickly and that most people are already part of the digital world.

However, digital justice means much more than internet access. It also means quality access, relevant knowledge, safety, language, critical thinking, and the possibility to use technology for personal development and for strengthening society. This is where the main question begins: Is digital progress equally available to everyone, or does it mostly empower those who already have resources, skills, and opportunities?

In Georgia, digital inequality is often invisible. Many young people use smartphones, are active on social media, and adapt quickly to new platforms. But if we look more deeply, we see that access and real opportunity are not the same thing. A young person may have a phone, but not a computer for educational or professional purposes. They may have internet access, but not enough digital skills to evaluate information, protect personal data, recognize manipulation, or use technology to develop their own ideas. They may have access to global platforms but still struggle to find high-quality resources in the Georgian language.

This is especially visible in the regions, where young people often have fewer opportunities to attend training sessions, receive mentoring, work in modern technological environments, or participate in international educational programmes. The difference between cities and rural areas is not only infrastructural. It is also about knowledge, confidence, environment, and whether a young person believes that they have the right and ability to be an active participant in the digital future.

Georgia’s digital context: Progress and inequality at the same time

In recent years, many digital services have developed in Georgia. Citizens increasingly use online platforms, some public services are available electronically, digital tools are more frequently used in schools and universities, and since the pandemic, online learning and remote communication have become part of everyday life for many people. This experience was important because society quickly understood how essential digital skills are for education, employment, and maintaining social connections.

At the same time, the pandemic clearly revealed the scale of digital inequality. Not every family had the necessary equipment. Not every student had a quiet space for online lessons. Not every teacher was ready for digital teaching. For many young people, online education was not only an opportunity, but also an additional barrier. This experience remains important today because it showed us that digital transformation cannot be achieved only by providing technology.

For digital justice, technology must be accompanied by the development of human capacity. Schools need not only internet access, but also trained teachers, practical resources in the Georgian language, safe digital environments, and educational approaches that help young people not only use platforms, but also critically understand their content.

Young people in Georgia often learn to use new digital tools very quickly, but this does not mean that they automatically have digital literacy. Using social media is not the same as verifying information. Using artificial intelligence is not the same as critically evaluating its outputs. Being online does not mean being safe. Therefore, digital education must go beyond technical skills and include media literacy, ethics, personal data protection, prevention of online violence, and civic participation.

The Georgian language challenge in the age of AI

The development of artificial intelligence has made the importance of language even clearer. Many global AI tools work better in languages for which large amounts of data are available. English and other widely used languages are much more strongly represented in the digital space than Georgian. This means that for Georgian-speaking users, the possibilities of AI are often limited: translations may be inaccurate, context may be lost, cultural nuances may not be reflected, and Georgian-language knowledge may remain less visible.

The Georgian language is not only a means of communication. It is part of identity, culture, history, memory, and social self-expression. If digital and AI systems do not learn Georgian properly, there is a risk that Georgian experience, local context, and knowledge will become secondary in the global digital space. This is not only a technical problem. It is a cultural and democratic issue.

Language inequality is especially important for young people. When a young person tries to study, create, find information, or use an AI tool in Georgian, they need high-quality and reliable tools. Otherwise, the digital space cannot become a space of full participation for them. For example, if an AI tool responds poorly in Georgian, translates inaccurately, or fails to understand local context, a young person is forced to switch to another language. This gives an advantage to those who know English or other major languages well, while leaving others in a more passive position.

This issue is also important for ethnic minorities. Georgia is home to communities for whom Georgian may not be the first language, and in digital spaces they may face even more complex language barriers. If artificial intelligence and digital services do not take multilingual and multicultural realities into account, technology may become a mechanism of exclusion rather than inclusion.

For this reason, the development of the Georgian language in the digital age should not be seen as a narrow academic or technological task. It should be understood as part of digital justice. Georgia needs high-quality Georgian-language data, local content creation, technological support for the Georgian language, and cooperation between academia, civil society, technology experts, and young people.

Artificial intelligence: opportunity or imposed reality?

In Georgia, as in many other countries, artificial intelligence is entering everyday life very quickly. Young people use AI tools to prepare texts, translate materials, create visual content, study, and develop ideas. Organizations use it for communication, project planning, data analysis, and administrative processes. However, AI often enters society faster than society has time to understand it.

This is one of the main challenges: technology is already in our lives, but rules, knowledge, and critical discussion often lag behind. People use AI, but do not always know how it works, what data it uses, what biases it may have, or how it can affect work, education, rights, and democratic processes.

AI can be a major opportunity for a small country. It can support education, simplify information processing, encourage innovation, strengthen civil society, and create new opportunities for young people. For small organizations, AI can become a tool that helps improve communication, translate resources, plan projects, or better understand data. For young people, it can support self-learning, creativity, and the development of new ideas.

But if AI is introduced only according to the logic of the market or global technology companies, without broad public participation, it can become a source of new inequalities. When technology arrives in small countries in a “ready-made” form, local society often does not have enough time, resources, or influence to ask critical questions: Whose values are embedded in this system? What data was it trained on? Does it understand our language, culture, and reality? Who is responsible for mistakes? How does it affect people’s rights?

In Georgia, it is especially important that AI policy is not shaped only by technical specialists or business interests. The voices of young people, teachers, people living in the regions, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, journalists, civil society organizations, and local communities must be heard. Digital policy cannot be fair if it does not take into account the experiences of those who are most affected by it.

Inclusion and exclusion: Who is left outside the digital future?

Digital exclusion in Georgia does not only mean not having internet access. It can appear in many forms: lack of devices, low digital skills, language barriers, lack of reliable information, safety risks, regional inequality, or the absence of spaces where young people can speak critically about technology.

The situation of young people living in the regions is particularly important. They are often active users of social media, but have less access to quality non-formal education, digital training, mentoring, or international experience. For this reason, digital justice in youth work should not be limited to teaching technology. It must also strengthen critical thinking, media literacy, online safety, responsible communication, and civic participation.

Another form of digital exclusion is lack of confidence. Many young people feel that technology is “for others” – for those who live in big cities, speak English well, have strong computers, or grow up in technological environments. This feeling is an invisible barrier. It is important for young people to see that the digital world is not only for programmers or large companies. It is also a space where they have a place, a voice, and opportunities.

The main task of digital justice is to notice these invisible barriers. Often, the most vulnerable groups are absent from digital discussions. People speak about them but rarely listen to them. Therefore, every policy, programme, or educational initiative should begin with listening. What do young people need? What are they afraid of? What opportunities do they see? What experiences do they have online? How do they interact with technology in their daily lives?

The response and responsibility of civil society

Civil society has a special role in Georgia. It often appears where the state system, school, or market cannot provide enough support to young people. Civil society organizations create spaces for non-formal education, organize training, work in the regions, encourage youth participation, develop media and digital literacy, and strengthen local communities.

In the age of AI, this role becomes even more important. Civil society should act in three main directions. The first is education. People need to know what AI is, how it works, and what opportunities and risks it brings. This knowledge should be simple, understandable, and accessible not only to specialists, but also to young people, teachers, parents, journalists, and local activists. It is especially important to create educational materials in Georgian and based on local examples.

The second is advocacy. Decisions about AI and digital policy should be made transparently, with public participation, and based on human rights principles. We need to ask: Who benefits? Who owns the data? Who controls the process? Who has the right to know how an automated decision is made? Who can challenge an algorithmic mistake?

The third is network-based cooperation. Digital challenges change so quickly that one organization or one sector cannot respond to them alone. Cooperation is needed between civil society, the education sector, media, technology specialists, international partners, and local communities. Such cooperation can help ensure that digital justice does not remain only a slogan but becomes practical action.

Civil society’s response should not be only criticism. It should also create alternatives: training courses, guides, youth programmes, public discussions, local initiatives, research, policy recommendations, and spaces where conversations about technology are held in language that everyone can understand.

Helping Hand’s experience with young people

For Helping Hand, working with young people is one of the main parts of digital justice. Our experience shows that young people need not only information, but also a safe and supportive space where they can ask questions, share their fears and ideas, develop practical skills, and see their own role in society.

In our work, we often see that young people use technology very actively, but they need support to make this use thoughtful, safe, and creative. They are interested in how to recognize disinformation, how to protect personal data, how to use AI for learning without losing their own thinking, how to create content responsibly, and how to use digital spaces for civic engagement.

Helping Hand’s approach is based on non-formal education, practical learning, and active youth participation. For us, it is important that a young person is not only a participant in a training session. They should become a co-creator of the process. Young people should have the opportunity to identify problems, develop ideas, and implement initiatives in their own communities.

When working in the regions, it becomes especially clear how important it is to consider local context. The same programme cannot work in the same way everywhere. Some young people need more technical knowledge, others need more motivation and self-confidence, and others need a safe space where they can speak about their ideas for the first time. Therefore, digital education should be flexible, human-centred, and based on real needs.

From Helping Hand’s perspective, artificial intelligence can become a powerful tool for young people if it is understood properly. AI can help them study, develop ideas, overcome language barriers, and work creatively. But at the same time, young people need to know that AI is not an unquestionable authority. It can make mistakes, be biased, misunderstand context, or produce superficial answers. That is why the use of AI must be accompanied by critical thinking, ethics, and responsibility.

Our vision is that young people should move from awareness to action. They need not only information, but also voice, space, and support to create change – in school, university, community, organization, or online.

 

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For Georgia, the role of young people is especially important. Young people are often seen as natural users of technology, as if they automatically have digital skills simply because they grew up with the internet. But this idea is superficial. Young people may easily use social media, but this does not mean that they are ready to understand the ethical, social, and political consequences of AI.

Young people should not be only users. They should be participants. They should have opportunities to speak about what kind of digital environment they want, how they see the use of AI in education, what risks they see for their generation, and how technology can become an instrument of public good.

Schools, families, civil society organizations, and media have a great responsibility in this process. We should not tell young people only that AI is “good” or “dangerous”. We should give them the opportunity to understand, test, think, and discuss. This is how responsible digital citizenship is formed.

Georgia’s place in the global dialogue

Georgia’s voice in the global digital dialogue is important because our country stands at the intersection of development, democracy, language protection, youth participation, and technological change. Our experience shows that digital progress does not automatically mean justice. Justice requires intentional policy, education, participation, and ethical frameworks.

For small countries such as Georgia, participation in global digital policy is especially important. If decisions are made only according to the interests of large countries, major languages, and big technology companies, small languages and local experiences may be left behind. Therefore, it is important for Georgia not only to receive technology, but also to participate in international conversations about digital justice.

The WACC Digital Justice Symposium in Berlin once again underlined that AI and digital rights are not only technical issues. They are questions of power, justice, human rights, and the future. For Georgia, participation in this discussion means an opportunity to make our experiences, challenges, and needs more visible internationally.

What needs to be done next?

For Georgia’s digital future to be fair, action is needed in several directions.

First, digital and AI literacy must be strengthened among young people, teachers, parents, and civil society representatives. This knowledge should be practical, understandable, and adapted to the Georgian context.

Second, Georgian-language digital resources must be developed. The Georgian language should be fully represented in digital and AI systems. This requires quality content, data development, research, and cooperation between the technology sector and civil society.

Third, AI policy should be based on human rights, transparency, and accountability. Society should have the right to know how and where automated systems are used, what data they rely on, and how they can be monitored.

Fourth, young people should be included in decision-making. They should have spaces where they can express their views and implement practical initiatives.

Fifth, the regions must be strengthened. Digital justice cannot be achieved if opportunities are concentrated only in big cities. Digital education, technological resources, and innovative programmes must reach regions, villages, and communities that are often less visible.

The digital future must be human-centred

Digital justice in Georgia means that technology should serve people, not the other way around. It means that AI should not be introduced as if it were a neutral and unavoidable force. Every technological system is created on the basis of specific people, interests, data, and values. That is why society must ask questions in time and demand answers.

For Georgia, the digital future should be Georgian-language, inclusive, ethical, and open to young people. It should strengthen education, local communities, democratic participation, and human dignity. Technology can become an instrument of development and justice, but only if conversations about it do not remain only in expert rooms.

We need a digital future where young people have not only internet access, but also knowledge, critical thinking, and influence. We need AI that does not erase small languages and local experiences, but strengthens them. We need policies that listen to those who are often invisible in discussions about digital progress.

The Digital Justice Symposium in Berlin highlighted one central idea: AI and digital rights are not abstract issues. They are questions of power, justice, and the human future. For Georgia, this is an opportunity to ensure that on the path of digital development, we do not lose what matters most – people, language, voice, and equality.

References

WACC, “Digital justice symposium closes with joint commitment to action,” 16 April 2026.

National Statistics Office of Georgia, “Indicators of Using Information and Communication Technologies in Households,” 2024.

PMCG / UNESCO, “Assessing Georgia’s Readiness for the Ethical and Responsible Deployment of Artificial Intelligence,” 2025.

UN Women Georgia, “Civil society representatives learn to use artificial intelligence,” 2025.

Nino Todua is the Director of the non-governmental organization Helping Hand, a youth worker, and a Gender Equality and Violence against Women Prevention Expert with over 15 years of professional experience. Her work includes designing, facilitating, and delivering structured trainings, roundtables, and capacity-building activities for vulnerable women in Georgia, as well as for public authorities, civil society organizations, and community groups. She has extensive expertise in gender mainstreaming, prevention of violence against women and domestic violence, victim-centred and trauma-informed approaches, and working with vulnerable and marginalized women. Nino has proven experience as a lead trainer and facilitator for educational institutions and multidisciplinary stakeholders, with a strong background in needs assessment, training design, monitoring, and analytical reporting.It is a challenge to engage with digital communication technologies in ways that relate meaningfully to local community realities, and yet without undermining inherent values and traditional knowledge. In response, this issue of Media Development focuses on digital media literacy and cultural integrity to highlight the interaction of digital communication technologies with local cultures/communities and to identify key concerns as well as some of the practical solutions communities are developing.