Technology has the potential to do a lot of good in the world. It can help us to automate repetitive tasks, make communication faster and easier, and connect people from all over the globe.
“Tech for good is best described as when an organisation uses technology to take on big social and environmental problems, with the aim of improving communities and lives.” Big Lemon
Contents
- Technology for good is everyone’s responsibility
- Digital technology has the power to change everything
- Lack of Internet Access is a Huge Issue!
- Technology Innovation Does Not Mean We Can Stop Work!
- New Business Models Will Evolve
- One Example: Gaming Is One Area For Huge Growth
- We Must Continually Innovate To Build Inclusion
- Civil Society Can Work To Shape Our Future
- What you can do to help?
- We Must Remain Open Minded And Positive Towards The Future
- Companies must take more responsibility
Technology for good is everyone’s responsibility
However, there is still a long way to go before everyone has access to these benefits. According to recent estimates, only around 52% of the world’s population has access to the net.
My friend Sheri R. Hinish said this recently: “I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I was wrong.
I thought with 30 years of science we could address those problems.
But I was wrong.
The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.
…and we scientists don’t know how to do that.”
Digital technology has the power to change everything
Technology has so much to offer. It can help us to automate repetitive tasks, make communication faster and easier, and connect people from all over the globe. But in order for these benefits to be enjoyed by everyone, we need to make sure that everyone has access to the net.
Lack of Internet Access is a Huge Issue!
According to recent estimates, only around 52% of the population have access to the internet.
In many cases, lack of access to the net is a symptom of poverty. According to the World Bank, around 60% of the world’s population exist in poverty.
This is why it’s so important that we continue to work towards increasing access to digital technology for all. We can help alleviate poverty and make it a better place for everyone by doing so.
Technology Innovation Does Not Mean We Can Stop Work!
Technology innovation has the potential to reduce our working hours and alleviate wastage in the supply chain and reduce carbon emissions although we still need to put the work in to make these a reality. We must focus on creating a whole new way of looking at things.
New Business Models Will Evolve
Whether the business model is just a new innovation for something that exists already or not there is still hope for life to get better and tech for good will be able to change many things. All we need to do is focus on the big issue which is inclusion for all.
One Example: Gaming Is One Area For Huge Growth
When we look at the potential for gaming to improve things all we need to do is to grant access to banking to the currently unbanked and get them involved with an net-enabled way for them to work and their lives will transform for the better.
We Must Continually Innovate To Build Inclusion
We should not be content with the status quo; we should always be looking for ways to improve things. And there is no doubt that technology can help us to do that. But we must remember that it is only one part of the equation. We also need to continue to work hard to make sure that everyone has access to these benefits. Only then can we truly say that tech is the supporting good.
Civil Society Can Work To Shape Our Future
“Given the rapid pace of change in the development and uptake of digital and emerging technologies, civil society will need to evolve, and the World Economic Forum aims to provide a platform for stakeholders to explore this new reality.” According to Lincoln Ajolu.
What you can do to help?
There are many ways that you can help to increase access to technology for all. Here are a few ideas:
-Donate money to organisations that are working to increase access to technology for all.
-Volunteer your time to teach others how to use digital technology.
-Encourage your friends and family to use technology everyday.
We Must Remain Open Minded And Positive Towards The Future
We have so much potential to use artificial intelligence to make the world a better place, tech firms are crying out for more users and there are still many laggards and pessimistic people who are frankly not in a good space to positively impact anyone’s well being.
Many organisations are building tech that will change everything, the new projects that are being drawn up as we speak and well underway will positively impact the public sector and in particular have a positive impact on education, they will also sow the grassroots seeds of social good and bring positive social impact on the next generation.
These young people will be trusted with the future of the planet and the people on it and they will make positive change happen. They will embrace artificial intelligence in all its guises.
Currently, we have many issues. At the time of writing we have the after-effects of covid, and we have the dreadful war in Ukraine although many of us including me still live in hope of a better life, and more tech to meet the needs of the growing population, more services for the elderly that actually work.
The big issues I also see are selfishness, greed and apathy, all of which have the risk to damage things beyond repair. We must all do more to create long term sustainability, we must reframe our definition of success. GDP is no longer a good way to frame the success of nations, we must look at the health and well-being of our citizens and the environment in which they live and the sustainability of the raw materials our organisations use.
Companies must take more responsibility
Companies must take more responsibility for the impact they have. They must create more development programs, more businesses must show responsibility for their employees’ skills and make them more sustainable in the next few years. The rate of change is fast although I believe with the responsible use of data human capital can become our greatest asset.
The more impact we have on how leaders tackle social problems and manage to create technologies that can help people who are living in poverty and those communities who in essence would jump at the chance to be able to provide for themselves the better market rate returns our businesses will develop.
We have to continue creating content, and building relationships to inspire people to change their ways for the betterment of all. We have to use technology and our knowledge for good, not just for ourselves but also for future generations. Let’s make tech work for us!
By taking action, we can make sure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the amazing power of technology. So let’s get started!