Making technology work for us, not against us
Prof Tim Unwin and Prof Wallace Chigona
ID4A2019 kicked off on with a thought-provoking keynote address by Prof Tim Unwin.
The event, focusing on Innovative Development for Africa, is the first of its kind – a postgraduate symposium organised entirely by students, for students.
Unwin, UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, and Emeritus Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, spoke on Challenging orthodoxy on technology and development: reflections from the dark side.
He challenged participants to question the prevalent belief that technology is inherently good and called on students to ask moral questions about what we do with technology.
Instead of promoting ICTs as a way to increase economic growth, Unwin suggested that technology actually increases inequality and unhappiness.
With some of the poorest countries paying more for connectivity at slower speeds, Unwin asked whose interests ICTs are serving. “We need a moral lens with all technology,” said Unwin. "We must work harder to mitigate the negatives in order to enable the positives. We are all responsible for the unintended consequences of our work."
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