How Can Technology Serve Everyone
How can technology serve everyone? ==Technology can serve everyone when communities treat it as a tool for expanding people’s capabilities, not just as a product to deploy quickly.== [:cite[1]{ln=1}] ==The report sa...
How can technology serve everyone? ==Technology can serve everyone when communities treat it as a tool for expanding people’s capabilities, not just as a product to deploy quickly.== [:cite[1]{ln=1}] ==The report says the priority should be to use AI to expand people’s capabilities and improve opportunities, while also reducing risks so benefits exceed harms.== [:cite[1]{ln=1}] [:cite[1]{ln=3}] 1. Start with access: power, internet, devices Technology cannot serve everyone if basic access is missing.[:cite[2]{ln=1}] [:cite[2]{ln=3}] ==The report says firms and workers cannot use AI productively unless infrastructure, the business environment, and workforce skills are in place, and it names electricity, internet, and digital devices as essential.== [:cite[2]{ln=1}] [:cite[2]{ln=3}] Communities should therefore prioritize reliable electricity, affordable connectivity, and usable devices, especially in schools, clinics, and public hubs.[:cite[2]{ln=3}] [:cite[3]{ln=1}] Front end public services also depend on “last mile” reliability such as electricity, connectivity, affordable data, and device capacity.[:cite[4]{ln=1}] [:cite[4]{ln=2}] 2. Build people’s skills, not just the technology Technology serves everyone better when more people can actually use it.[:cite[5]{ln=1}] [:cite[6]{ln=2}] The report identifies skills as one of the core complements needed for AI’s productive use.[:cite[5]{ln=1}] It also says frontline workers need training and support to use AI effectively.[:cite[6]{ln=2}] In Sierra Leone, early evidence showed teachers were more likely to use AI tools when they received guidance on how to integrate them into their work.[:cite[6]{ln=3}] Communities should therefore invest in digital literacy for citizens, practical AI training for workers, and support for teachers, health workers, and local officials.[:cite[6]{ln=1}] [:cite[6]{ln=2}] [:cite[7]{ln=2}] 3. Make tools work in local languages and local conditions ==Technology is more likely to help everyone when it fits local needs rather than assuming one global model works everywhere.== [:cite[8]{ln=1}] [:cite[1]{ln=2}] The report says adapting AI to local conditions is likely to deliver the biggest benefits for developing countries.[:cite[8]{ln=1}] It also says governments can help by ensuring AI works in local languages and is suited to local conditions.[:cite[1]{ln=2}] That matters because limited AI support for local languages is identified as a major barrier in lower income settings.[:cite[6]{ln=1}] [:cite[9]{ln=2}] Communities should favor tools trained on local language data and designed around local laws, services, and daily problems.[:cite[8]{ln=2}] [:cite[10]{ln=2}] 4. Use technology to improve real services people need The report points to public services as one of the clearest places where technology can create broad benefits.[:cite[11]{ln=1}] It says evidence backed AI applications can increase the quality of public services and expand access at the front end of government.[:cite[11]{ln=1}] AI can also help officials improve forecasts, allocate scarce resources, and track and manage programs.[:cite[7]{ln=1}] In places with shortages of skilled staff, AI may help teachers and health workers deliver services more widely, although the report says evidence is still limited and emerging.[:cite[7]{ln=2}] Communities should therefore focus first on high value uses in education, health, agriculture, and service access, rather than adopting AI for its own sake.[:cite[12]{ln=1}] [:cite[12]{ln=2}] [:cite[12]{ln=3}] [:cite[12]{ln=4}] [:cite[13]{ln=5}] 5. Prepare good data and digital public infrastructure Technology serves everyone better when the underlying data systems are organized, shared appropriately, and built for public use.[:cite[14]{ln=5}] [:cite[14]{ln=6}] The report says governments should digitize records, invest in digital public infrastructure, design systems that generate quality data through routine operations, and enable data sharing through shared platforms and governance.[:cite[14]{ln=5}] [:cite[14]{ln=6}] It also notes that in many developing countries, records remain scattered across PDFs, legal documents, old systems, and staff knowledge rather than organized databases.[:cite[15]{ln=2}] Communities should therefore improve record digitization, metadata standards, and shared public data systems before expecting AI to work well.[:cite[16]{ln=1}] [:cite[3]{ln=1}] [:cite[15]{ln=3}] 6. Open useful data, with consent and community control The report says governments can make the data needed to build AI solutions more widely available.[:cite[10]{ln=1}] One option it gives is opening more public data, especially administrative data in local languages, for developers to use.[:cite[10]{ln=2}] At the same time, it says strong data sharing agreements that give local communities a say in how their data are used can build trust and encourage pa...