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?

Critical reflection

Our field needs to consider scale, demonstrable impact, and the wider challenges facing universities in order to focus its research over the next 10 years

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