I feel so strongly that the right technology for one society may not be right for another. In fact, at the current rate of technology development, I believe it’s increasingly important to study the peoples and the cultures of the place where the technology is being introduced. This notion was basically drilled into me as an undergrad in the Science & Technology in Society (STS) program at Stanford, although it applies ever so much in my current Cognitive Science program at UCSD. Plus, by working with faculty like Ed Hutchins who conduct serious (real) ethnographies of natural environments, I am reminded of the power of thinking before doing (or implementing).
Today I came across a blog post by my good friend, Erik Pukinskis, that I realize was the blog post I’ve been meaning to write for some time. Erik cautions us against blindly assuming that a $100 laptop will have the effect we hope it does (the effect of increasing education and awareness of children in third-world countries). Right on! The parables he presents are all stories I learned through STS as an undergrad—all stories that have stuck with me ever since, and that I’m sure my friends and family are tired of hearing about by now. Instead of retelling them, I’ll point you to Erik’s blog post so you can get a sense of what might happen if we introduce $100 laptops to third-world countries. Whether the artifacts are laptops, steel axes, snowmobiles, or simply drinking water, the cultural practices surrounding their integration have the potential of drastically changing the status quo. Be careful what you wish for.
Erik’s excellent post is here.
