6G: Values, Social Impacts, and Sustainability – Expanding the 6G Conversation with Young Voices (Italian High School Students)
In February 2025, CyberSocial Lab. (CSL) returned to Liceo Scientifico Albert Einstein in Palermo, continuing its dialogue on 6G technologies and their societal implications. This second visit built upon an engagement initiated in October 2024, when final-year students were introduced to the social and ethical dimensions of 6G.
Reaching a total of 139 high school students, this workshop also marked the introduction of SUSTAIN-6G project, expanding the conversation to include how sustainability can be integrated into next-generation networks alongside work on social acceptance, a core outcome of the 6G4Society CSA project. The activity, titled “6G: Values, Social Impacts, and Sustainability”, was made possible thanks to the school’s board of professors and specifically to Professor Massimiliano Nigrelli, and was led by CyberSocial Lab.
Over two days, the workshop provided a structured space for students to critically explore 6G not just as an innovation, but as a system embedded in society, shaped by ethical, economic, and environmental considerations. It began with a conceptual introduction tracing the historical evolution of wireless communication and unpacking the rationale behind technical innovations. From there, students examined the potential impacts of 6G and discussed how values should guide technological development, rather than simply responding to it.
This multidisciplinary foundation set the stage for hands-on group activities. Students examined 6G applications in healthcare and mobility – sectors particularly relevant to the citizens’ daily lives. Each group explored these themes through the lenses of impact, values, and sustainability, engaging in debates around who benefits from these technologies and under what conditions.
By the end of the workshop, students presented their insights and proposed use cases tailored to their city, directly addressing the core objectives of 6G4Society and SUSTAIN-6G. These two projects are mainly contributing to a broader reflection on social and sustainability challenges surrounding the development of 6G. Understanding the connection between social acceptance, societal values and technological development is essential for promoting responsible innovation – and ensuring future networks serve citizens by addressing their real-world concerns.
The workshop not only provided valuable input for research but also empowered students to envision technology as a tool for social progress.
As Luigi Briguglio, lead facilitator of the workshop, reflected: “Technology and its use are never neutral – they reflect societal choices, power structures, and ethical trade-offs. Ensuring that 6G serves society, rather than shaping it without input, requires engagement like this. The students are the generation that will use this next-generation mobile network.” These remarks capture the essence of this initiative: bringing technological innovation with the voices of young people – whose perspectives will help shape how these advancements can truly serve humanity.
