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…
Interview 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. Preparing for that session amid news revelations about the abuse of social media by governments and corporations in countries across Africa & Asia turned my thinking on Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) on its head…
Class Divisions in Technology Access
Mobile internet use in the Philippines is growing rapidly, but so are associated digital inequalities. I’ve just published a new research report with my colleague Kevin Hernandez based on our study in the Philippines, which suggests that far from creating equality of access to information, the use of mobile and internet technologies is creating new class divisions in technology access and new forms of digital inequality…
Digital Technology Excludes
This month I have been in the Philippines researching participatory technology initiatives designed to include Filipino citizens in participatory governance programmes…
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 ran the inagural Digital Development Summit at London’s South Bank Centre with partners Nesta and the Web Foundation and with funding from DFID…
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…
Mapping The Explosion of Tech Hubs Across Africa
As recently as 2011, at an international conference, an expert from Africa’s first and foremost Tech Hub estimated that there might be as many as 14 or 15 hubs across Africa. The truth was that no-one knew for sure how many existed…
Cheat Sheet on ICTs & SDGs
Last month I did some research on the role of ICTs in pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals and I thought that it might be useful to share some of those links here as an open resource. Hat tip to Anand Sheombar and to Linda Raftree for their help to me along the way…
ICT Access is NOT equal to Development
Using indicators of ICT access as a proxy for development is problematic. It is entirely possible for ICTs to be universally available to everyone in a specific population whilst at the same time as levels of well-being, health and freedoms decline. The UK and USA are examples of countries where indicators of mobile and internet penetration have rapidly increased at the same time as economic depression, and expansion in health and income inequalities…