What is Digital Economy Core Technology (DECT)?

Driven by technologies such as smartphones, drones, and big data, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0) has given rise to an innovative digital economy based on new technologies and skills. To deeply understand these cutting-edge technologies, DECT Institute has collaborated with top global open-source tool developers, educators, and industry experts to define Digital Economy Core Technology (DECT). DECT represents the key scientific and innovative fields driving digital economy development, covering four main categories: Digital Arts & Production, Science & Engineering, Digital Literacy, and DECT Research.

The DECT Global Series is a curriculum system specifically developed by DECT Institute to promote DECT education. This series is suitable for people of all ages and technical backgrounds, not only spanning art creation, economics, science, technology, and research fields, but also integrating the most important and indispensable knowledge, skills, and tools in the digital economy. By promoting the digital transformation of traditional industries and the innovative upgrading of digital industries, the DECT Global Series effectively drives the comprehensive development of the digital economy.

The DECT Global Series includes the following seven curriculum systems:

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The DECT Global Series aims to cultivate highly efficient 'digital citizens' who can excel in digital transformation. Meanwhile, we provide educators with exclusive resources and expertise through our 'Train-the-Trainer' program, further enhancing teaching effectiveness and student competitiveness.

In addition, we have developed a dedicated learning management system—the DECT Educational Platform—providing students with a seamless teaching experience. Through this platform, students can access course resources anytime, anywhere, interact with global peers, and achieve personalized learning paths.

What is Creative Intelligence (CI)?

Creative Intelligence (CI) is a human-centered capability that combines creativity, emotional intelligence, and interdisciplinary thinking, aimed at enhancing human potential through purposeful use of technology (including artificial intelligence), rather than replacing it. CI is not opposed to artificial intelligence (AI), but rather represents its original intention—driving innovation and progress by extending human imagination, not replacing human thinking. By focusing on Creative Intelligence, DECT Institute is committed to cultivating a new generation of creative leaders who are technologically literate, purpose-driven, and capable of shaping a more human-centered digital world. This definition emphasizes how CI empowers individuals to become the core force driving change in today's rapidly evolving technological era.

Why does DECT Institute emphasize CI rather than AI?

DECT Institute advocates for Creative Intelligence (CI) rather than traditional Artificial Intelligence (AI). We believe that future innovation, job preparation, and meaningful human-machine collaboration depend on cultivating creativity, interdisciplinary intelligence, and purposeful use of AI tools—not just technical automation capabilities. First, CI embraces a human-centered philosophy, placing humans at the core rather than machines. It views AI as a creative partner, not as a replacement for human thinking. Second, while AI can automate many tasks, CI focuses more on developing creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence—capabilities that remain indispensable even as technology continues to advance. Additionally, CI emphasizes accessibility and inclusivity, enabling students without technical backgrounds to successfully participate in innovation through open-source tools and low-code/no-code environments, thus democratizing innovation. Furthermore, CI integrates culture, ethics, and storytelling capabilities, ensuring that technology enhances humanity rather than dehumanizing it. Finally, this aligns perfectly with DECT Institute's mission to empower diverse global talent to create the future together, rather than just manufacturing machines for the future.

Differences Between Creative Intelligence (CI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

	CI Creative Intelligence	AI Artificial Intelligence
Definition	A human-centered framework that combines creativity, emotional intelligence, interdisciplinary thinking, and purposeful use of technology (including AI)	Machine-based systems that simulate human cognition to perform tasks such as learning, reasoning, pattern recognition, and decision-making
Focus	Empowering people to use technology for imagination, creation, design, and cross-domain problem solving	Automating cognitive tasks traditionally performed by humans, improving efficiency and scale
Core Advantages	Human imagination, adaptability, storytelling ability, ethics, empathy, and contextual judgment	Data processing, prediction, optimization, automation, and logical rule execution
End Users	Designers, educators, entrepreneurs, media producers, young people, interdisciplinary creators.	Data scientists, engineers, analysts, enterprise IT departments, large-scale automation industries.
Role of AI	Developing professionals who can innovate, think critically, and demonstrate emotional intelligence through collaboration with AI	Creating autonomous systems that can improve productivity, reduce errors, and solve specific computational tasks
Goals	Developing professionals who can innovate, think critically, and demonstrate emotional intelligence through collaboration with AI	Creating autonomous systems that can improve productivity, reduce errors, and solve specific computational tasks
Output	Original content, human-AI collaboration, creative applications, new narratives, socially meaningful innovation	Automated reports, optimized processes, analysis, robotic systems, predictive models
Education	Developing design, critical thinking, storytelling, ethical use of AI, and interdisciplinary exploration	Training in programming, data analysis, model building, and algorithm optimization
Economic Impact	Empowering creative economy, design innovation, and cultural industries	Enabling process automation, supply chain optimization, and business analytics
Productivity Impact	Developing agile, emotionally intelligent, and creative professionals for an AI-enhanced world	Training technical operators, engineers, and system administrators
Global Impact	Promoting cultural sustainability, inclusive creation, and human-centered solutions	Scaling decision-making systems, improving productivity, and optimizing global networks

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