Date January 31, 2023
Hour 5:00 pm ET

Most global innovation is concentrated in a handful of high-income countries. There are potentially large benefits from the diffusion and adoption of these new technologies around the world. However, a historic body of work arguing that imported technologies may be “inappropriate” suggests that the story may not be so simple. If new technologies are designed to match the conditions and characteristics of the countries that develop them, they could be substantially less useful in other parts of the world. Large populations could be left without technologies that work well for them. Most discussions of the appropriateness of technology have focused on the fact that technology is designed for the skill and capital-intensive environments of rich countries, making them less productive where skill and capital are scarce.

This panel broadens the story by taking a multidisciplinary perspective and exploring varied contexts in which technology may be inappropriate and thereby sustain global disparities.  Each talk will focus on a different topic: Mireille Kamariza on healthcare and medical devices, Anton Korinek on artificial intelligence and data, Jacob Moscona on agriculture and biotechnology, and Nathan Nunn on culture. The goal of the panel is to expand the conversation on the (in)appropriateness of technology and understand how it may contribute to various forms of inequality around the world today.

Organizers:
Jacob Moscona, Harvard University
Dani Rodrik, Harvard University

Chair:
Dani Rodrik, Harvard University

Panelists:
Mireille Kamariza, Harvard University
Anton Korinek, University of Virginia
Jacob Moscona, Harvard University
Nathan Nunn, UBC

January 31, 2023
5:00 pm ET