Latest Blog Post

Friday, 21 October, 2022 - 01:31

This is the core of my contribution to a Nethope 2022 seminar at the invitation of Oxfam US.

 
The Abolition of Some Digital Technologies Is Essential to Human Development and Social Justice
 
a) Technology abolition is not only possible – it is commonplace
 
b) Technologies of all kinds are regularly abolished - and have een throughout history.
 
c) Abolition is not only common – it can be considered to be a measure of social progress
 
d) Every generation identifies new social evils and abolishes them
 
e) We are all familiar with many examples of abolition – historical and current
 
f) These include the abolition of technologies of production including child labour and, slavery; technologies of torture including the rack, pillory, breaking wheels and the instep borer; weapons technologies including, cluster bombs, nerve gas, and biological weapons; and industrial technologies that contained carcinogens or other toxic materials such as lead and asbestos.
 
g) Not only is abolition commonplace, and progressive, the methods for achieving abolition are well known and well established 
 
h) Abolition is achieved when citizens name injustices, build coalitions, raise awareness, influence political processes, reform laws and abolish social evils
 
i) When abolition is framed in this way as a feature of social progress, it then...

All Blog Posts

Tackling Toxic Masculinity in Technology Workplaces

Toxic masculinity and everyday sexism create a hostile environment for women in technology workplaces and in online spaces. In an increasingly digital world the male-domination of technology design, software production, and digital content is a serious problem that demands urgent remedy.

 

Top Ten Books on Digital Development

Following a popular Twitter Thread I wrote on this subject recently, I thought it might be useful to have these all in one place. 

 

 

Digital Development: what's in a name?

 

Richard Heeks recently asked whether the emerging relationship between digital technology and international development should be referred to as "Digital Development" or "Digital-for-Development". I use these two terms to refer to different things.

 

Ten Rules of Technology

Nothing is more practical than rules to guide thinking. In this post I share the ten rules I use to think about technology and society. Personally I use them as tools to filter the hype that surrounds technology and to get to the critical questions of who benefits and loses, as well as what needs to be done to secure a more equitable society.

Podcast with Nanjala Nyabola

In this episode of of the IDS "Between The Lines", podcast I spoke to Kenyan journalist and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola, about her book ‘Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya’. The book focuses on how social media has impacted Kenyan politics both positively and negatively, and the consequences for democracy.

Digital Imperialism & How We Tackle It

I recently ran a session on Digital Development here at IDS for staff from two bilateral donors.

Class Divisions in Technology Access

Mobile internet use in the Philippines is growing rapidly, but so are associated digital inequalities.

Digital Technology Excludes

 

This month I have been in the Philippines researching participatory technology initiatives designed to include Filipino citizens in participatory governance programmes.

 

Perversely I came back more concerned about the ways that digital technologies exclude the most marginalised. In this post I explain the reasons why.

 

ICT4D Conference Calendar 2018

 
Here's a early look at the calendar of ICT4D conferences that have already announced dates and locations for 2018.
As ever May will be the busiest month of the year for ICT4D conferences.
 

Decent Work in a Digital World

The last few weeks have been super busy here in the Digital and Technology team at IDS. I'm preparing for fieldwork in the Philippines at the same time as we are juggling a raft of exciting new research proposals at various stages of development. Last week we also ran the inagural Digital Development Summit at London's South Bank Centre.

ICT4D Conferences 2017

A calendar of ICT4D conferences in 2017.

Let a Thousand ICT4D Blogs Bloom

 

On his Facebook page last week Richard Heeks, from the Centre for Development Informatics at Manchester University, was lamenting the fact that many ICT4D blogs have become inactive.

Pages