Who is technology really for?
A question that will be useful to hold in mind as we talk, read and form opinions about technology and everyday life.
So.. who is technology really for? An easy response is "people". But which people? In a world where we do not have equal or comparable levels of access, which people or which section of society are we talking about?
Or a second response could be – Technology is for "those passionate about technology". Coders. Programmers. Those who love algorithms. The Innovators of Silicon Valley. Supply drives demand. And new innovations demand new markets. And so, the market (= people) is created in response to the product's need.
A third answer could be Darwinian. Evolutionary. Technology isn't really for anyone, you might argue. It's the next natural progression. ChatGPT was unavoidable, its time had to come.
Honestly, I'm not sure what the correct answer is. I don't know if there is one either. But…
Our concerns must be about those who have less access
From my writings on Vidarbha Diaries you might have guessed which segment of people is of most concern to me: people with less access to what are now mainstream online ways of "discovering" information or learning.
That's because regional imbalances help one explore a problem from a frame of reference that a person with privileges — for example the programmer/innovator in Silicon Valley — will not easily see otherwise. Context, social location, realities – are all important. This is not a moral argument. It's an empirical one.
An article I published alongside this post
The international development sector — global and large NGOs — are trying their best to use technology as a central means of achieving results in their programmes. Be it education, health, livelihood, poverty reduction or women's empowerment. My colleague Jacklyne Kobek (based in Kenya) and I published our reflections on what programme designers should keep in mind when using technology in social outcomes work.
About Bond UK
Bond is a network of civil society organisations based primarily in the UK. After I moved to London in 2018, discovering Bond's website helped me get an overview of the civil society sector in a completely new country. I'm happy and humbled to contribute back to that community of practitioners.