Bridging Digital Divides: Technology as a Force for Inclusion

This podcast was originally recorded on November 18, 2022, for the CID Speaker Series featuring Aleem Walji, Senior Advisor - Strategy, Innovation and Partnerships at the Institute for Capacity Development, International Monetary Fund. Aleem continued the conversation with CID Student Ambassador, Aining Liang, after an appearance at the CID Speaker Series event. Exponential technologies will not improve the lives of the poor by default. Design choices will determine who benefits from digital disruption and who is left behind. Two decades ago, many predicted that a digital divide would marginalize already underserved populations. While there are examples of digital exclusion, technologies like the mobile phone, mobile money and new delivery models have led to significant innovation and inclusion in financial services, health, education and agriculture. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and distributed ledgers, however, are not ‘inclusive by design’. Hardware is not distributed equally and most poor populations do not have reliable access to broadband, computing power or electricity. Delivery model innovation and how tech-enabled enterprises partner with the local, state and federal governments will determine whether these technologies will benefit the poor, result in greater inclusivity and drive greater equity.

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Incredible progress has been made throughout the world in recent years. However, globalization has failed to deliver on its promises. As problems like unequal access to education and healthcare, environmental degradation, and stretched finances persist, we must continue building on decades of transformative development work. The Center for International Development (CID) is a university-wide center based at the Harvard Kennedy School that seeks to solve these pressing development problems—and many more. At CID, we believe leveraging global talent is the key to enabling development for all. We teach to build capacity, conduct research that guides development policy, and convene talent to advance ideas for a thriving world. Addressing today’s challenges to international development also requires bridging academic expertise with practitioner experience. Through collaborative, in-country partnerships, CID’s research programs, faculty, and students deploy an analytical framework and context-dependent approaches to tackle development problems from all angles, in every region of the globe.