{"id":694,"date":"2018-05-03T09:15:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T09:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/blogs\/?p=694"},"modified":"2018-05-03T09:17:23","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T09:17:23","slug":"3-ways-move-hype-practice-digital-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/blogs\/3-ways-move-hype-practice-digital-development\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Move From Hype to Practice in Digital Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Nora Lindstr\u00f6m<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m\u00a0Nora Lindstr<\/a>\u00f6m<\/a>, and as Global Coordinator for Digital Development for\u00a0Plan International<\/a>, I\u2019m tasked with staying current on all things digital, and maintaining an overview on Plan\u2019s ICT4D programming around the world.<\/p>\n

As a result, I get emails like this from our senior executives:<\/p>\n

Hi Nora, I\u2019ll be talking about our use of digital technology at an upcoming meeting. Can you tell me how we are using blockchain in our work?<\/p>\n

The\u00a0blockchain hype<\/a>\u00a0has entered the mainstream, and everyone wants to be seen using it, or at least testing out how it could be used. And why not? Last December an iced tea company changed its name to Long Blockchain, and its stock price skyrocketed.<\/p>\n

The blockchain hype is on in international development too. In an\u00a0op-ed for Devex<\/a>\u00a0last year, blockchain was described as \u201cthe single most disruptive technology for the international development sector as we understand it today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps if we allowed people to donate in bitcoin, we\u2019d be raking it in. Then we could use blockchain to bank the unbanked. Provide transparency in land registration and agricultural supply chains. Provide identities to those without.<\/p>\n

However, my answer to the executive that wrote to me is no. No, we are not using blockchain in our work on girls\u2019 rights. Anywhere.<\/p>\n

Be Cautious of New Technology Hype<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re not not using blockchain because others and I don\u2019t see it\u2019s potential. I actually do. And I\u2019m aware of\u00a0UN agencies\u2019 blockchain work<\/a>\u00a0in spearheading its use to improve food security and reduce remittance costs.<\/p>\n

However, there are many organisations \u2013 including mine \u2013 who are not using it because we\u2019re still struggling to see the tangible use cases that would bring added value beyond the initial experimental hype.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not yet clear how heavily we should be investing in it right now: There are genuine concerns about piloting new technology on\u00a0extremely vulnerable populations<\/a>, in situations where we don\u2019t have the right to fail. Also, not all new technologies fulfill their disruptive promise: how many of you still regard\u00a03D printing<\/a>\u00a0as the massive big next thing in the international development?<\/p>\n

Embrace Established Technologies<\/h2>\n

While being interested, even excited by the dots on the Gartner hype cycle, lots of practical gains and returns on investment still come from \u201colder\u201d technologies.<\/p>\n

There is a slight tendency to talk about using\u00a0mobiles phones<\/a>\u00a0in development as something that\u2019s already been done, like it\u2019s DVDs when everyone\u2019s moved to streaming. Yet many of our organisations still have so much to gain and so much to learn from using mobile phones.<\/p>\n

Last December, Plan Finland launched\u00a0Sheboard<\/a>, a predictive text app that empowers girls by suggesting words such as \u201cclever\u201d \u201cbrave\u201d and \u201cpowerful\u201d after phrases such as \u201cI am\u201d or \u201cmy daughter is\u201d. This was described as revolutionary.<\/p>\n

Data collection is still not universally digital, and not everyone even has access to a mobile phone. In fact, women globally are 14% less likely to own a mobile phone than men. We also have a lot to learn about making use of\u00a0data we collect<\/a>, as well as ensuring the data is stored securely and privately.<\/p>\n

Hand Over the Technology<\/h2>\n

Anyone who has studied development theory will be familiar with the phrase\u00a0\u201chand over the stick\u201d<\/a>, coined by Robert Chambers. As we think about using technology \u2013 new or otherwise \u2013 in our work, we also need to be mindful of handing over the tech.<\/p>\n

Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to artificial intelligence, or\u00a0machine learning<\/a>. We all know Silicon Valley has a diversity problem, but what also needs to be recognized is the impact this has on how, and what, machines learn.<\/p>\n

AI has several potential applications in international development \u2013 from\u00a0chatbots<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0natural language processing<\/a>. But if machines are programmed to learn from the current status quo, then we risk them reproducing existing power relations, from gendered stereotypes through neo-colonialism to inequality.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we in international development increasingly need to work on getting knowledge\u00a0into the hands of the people we work with, and empower them to develop their own tech. The future is digital, and if the majority of mankind is not engaged in creating that digital future, we\u2019re in real trouble.<\/p>\n

3 Practices to Practice<\/h2>\n

The three things I want you to take away from this post are:<\/p>\n