Reflections on the “10 Myths of ICT for Development”

Kentaro ToyamaVisiting Researcher

University of California, Berkeley

University of Washington – ChangeSeattle – October 20, 2011

Photo: Safaricom; Source: http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Topics/Development/Mobile-Phones-and-Savings-A-Powerful-Pair

“Technology can be a major force to advance financial inclusion, which can help improve the lives of the poor in the developing world.”

– Bill Gates

Photo: Khalil Hamra, Associated Press, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/world/middleeast/09egypt.htmlSource: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/opinion/28iht-edcohen28.html

“Facebook-armed youth of Tunisia and Egypt rise to demonstrate the liberating power of social media.”

– Roger Cohen [New York Times]

Photo: http://jobsblog.com/blog/wumpus-outreach-project;Source: Shirky, Clay. 2010. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age.

“We want to be connected to one another, a desire that… our use of social media actually engages.”

– Clay Shirky

Sources: New York Times, 2011; Bill Gates, 2011; Clay Shirky, 2008.

“Facebook-armed youth of Tunisia and Egypt rise to demonstrate the liberating power of social media.”

– Roger Cohen [New York Times]

“Technology can be a major force to advance financial inclusion, which can help improve the lives of the poor in the developing world.”

– Bill Gates

“We want to be connected to one another, a desire that… our use of social media actually engages”

– Clay Shirky

A Theory and 10+ Myths

Theory: Technology (only) magnifies human intent and capacity.

Range of Responses

“[The blog is a] breath of fresh air among all the bland, boring, conveyor-assembled writing about the subject.”

“The way Kentaro [presents] it, we should conclude that nobody can do anything.”

“[Everything] that Kentaro said was true, but thatthe talk still left me completely deflated and uninspired.”

“Redoubled efforts to create technology that will be of special value to the least advantaged might help to offset technology’s tendency to heighten inequality. ”

Sources: Ekaterina Mitiaev; Archon Fung; Tapan Parikh; kansal123. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_mTwm5m8DM;

Theory: Technology (only) magnifies human intent and capacity.

Does the theory work?

Falsifiability– E.g., counterexample if ICT

has positive impact without positive intent or capacity

Causal explanations– E.g., ICTs can have either

positive or negative impacts, depending on the situation

– E.g., projects tend to work if there’s a committed partner

Predictions– E.g., ICTs alone will never turn

around an underperforming school system.

Corollaries– Directionality of impact determined

by people.– Positive impact can be had by people

alone, but not by technology alone.– Complete solutions involve human

components.– Technology scales impact, only if the

right substrate of human intent and capacity is present.

– Without that substrate, scaling technology impact requires scaling intent and capacity.

Theory: Technology (only) magnifies human intent and capacity.

Does the theory work?

Falsifiability– E.g., counterexample if ICT

has positive impact without positive intent or capacity

Causal explanations– E.g., ICTs can have either

positive or negative impacts, depending on the situation

– E.g., projects tend to work if there’s a committed partner

Predictions– E.g., ICTs alone will never turn

around an underperforming school system.

Corollaries– Directionality of impact determined

by people.– Positive impact can be had by people

alone, but not by technology alone.– Complete solutions involve human

components.– Technology scales impact, only if the

right substrate of human intent and capacity is present.

– Without that substrate, scaling technology impact requires scaling intent and capacity.

Theory: Technology (only) magnifies human intent and capacity.

Underlying Misconceptions

Underlying Misconceptions

Exemplar: Nicholas Negroponte

Counter: Socio-technical theory

E.g., “By consigning technologies to the realm of things, this well-established iconography distracts attention from the human—socioeconomic and political—relations which largely determine who uses them and for what purposes.” (Leo Marx 1997)

Fix: Always think of technology as a socio-technological system.

Misconceptiona.Marx, Leo. "Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept". Social Research, Vol 64. N. 3, Fall 1997.

Reference: Marx, Leo. "Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept". Social Research, Vol 64. N. 3, Fall 1997.

Underlying Misconceptions

Exemplar: C. K. Prahalad

Counter: Progressivism

E.g., “It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.” (Adam Smith 1776)

Fix: Keep attention on progressive efforts.

People benefit more as producers than as consumers.

Misconception

Growth

Corporations /taxation

focuswealth

attention toefficiency

Social Welfare

Public/non-profit services

distributemeans to

wealth

attention to justice

Reference: Smith, Adam. 1776. The Wealth of Nations. Book V, Chapter 2, Part 2.

Exemplar: C. K. Prahalad

Counter: Progressivism

E.g., “It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.” (Adam Smith 1776)

Fix: Keep attention on progressive efforts.

People benefit more as producers than as consumers.

Misconception

Growth

Corporations /taxation

focuswealth

attention toefficiency

Social Welfare

Public/non-profit services

distributemeans to

wealth

attention to justice

Reference: Smith, Adam. 1776. The Wealth of Nations. Book V, Chapter 2, Part 2.

Exemplar: C. K. Prahalad

Counter: Progressivism

E.g., “It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.” (Adam Smith 1776)

Fix: Keep attention on progressive efforts.

People benefit more as producers than as consumers.

Misconception

Growth

Corporations /taxation

focuswealth

attention toefficiency

Social Welfare

Public/non-profit services

distributemeans to

wealth

attention to justice

Reference: Smith, Adam. 1776. The Wealth of Nations. Book V, Chapter 2, Part 2.

Underlying Misconceptions

Exemplar: John Williamson (“Washington Consensus”)

Counters: Path dependency; contextual design

Fix: Understand problem first; develop solution second. (Note, technology may not be part of the optimal solution.)

Misconception

Photo: Vishwa Kiran

Underlying Misconceptions

Exemplar: Eric Brewer

Counter: Science and technology studies

E.g., “The very successes of technology often produce perverse outcomes, in the form of unpredicted threats to life, health, nature and social cohesion.” (Jasanoff 2002)

Fix: Accept that poverty is primarily a social phenomenon.

Progressive efforts are worthwhile (even with technology).

Misconception

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Wikipedia; Jasanoff, Sheila. "New Modernities: Reimagining Science, Technology, and Development". Environmental Values. Vol. 11, No. 3 (2002), pp. 253-276.

Underlying Misconceptions

Exemplar: Megan Smith (Google.org)

Counter: Human development

E.g., “The first and overarching Big Problem is to make the Good Person… The equally Big Problem… is to make the Good Society.” (Maslow 1971)

Fix: Focus more on mentoring, less on providing for.

Misconception

Recommendations

If insisting on technology use…

– Identify trends and institutions already having positive impact and apply technology to amplify them.

– Get immersed in on-the-ground development, not just technology hacking.

– Stay focused on development goals; remain detached from technology success.

– Maintain focus on progressive application of technology.

– Consider teaching and mentoring, over production of technology.

If not insisting on technology use…

– Lavish efforts on individual and institutional capacity.

– Maintain focus on progressive activity.

– Let technology take care of itself. – Stay focused on development

goals.– Don’t be distracted by development

fads (including technology-based ones).

Technologies that might invalidate the theory:

I know kung fu!

…then again, maybe not!

kentaro_toyama@hotmail.comhttp://www.kentarotoyama.org Thanks!

Jean-Marc Côté, education in the year 2000 (1899).

Image: Buckingham, David. "Beyond Technology: Children's Learning in the Age of Digital Culture. 2007 Polity Press.