Can computers save the world?
Here’s a feel-good story for a cold, grey day… Turns out computers don’t have to be all about identity theft, pornography and piracy… The gang at the MIT Media Lab have a new initiative to develop low-cost laptops ($100 or less) for children in developing countries. They’re simple and innovative machines running Linux, and will be super low-power. Ever tried those wind-up flashlights and radios? They’re fun, and that’s going to be a power option for these “OLPC” machines. They’re aiming to obtain 100 minutes of use from one minute of hand-cranking!
A key factor will be how they are used — whether computers really improve education entirely depends on how they are used, in conjunction with other forms of teaching.
So — I think this is great, but at the same time it’s important to note that, according to UNICEF’s The State of the World’s Children 2005, only 58% of people in the world have adequate sanitation (35% in the least developed countries), and 27% of children under 5 in the world are either moderately or severely underweight (36% in the least developed countries and 46% in South Asia!).
Over 1 billion children are being denied a protected/healthy upbringing (as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child). I’m not taking away from Negroponte and the MIT gang’s work at all — frankly I think it’s brilliant and I’d like to see more computer-industry folks looking beyond the short-term, beyond their profit margins. But…let’s not forget that children have even more essential rights than access to a laptop computer and the Internet!
We need to Make Poverty History, and fight the diseases, like HIV/AIDS, that are ravaging the poorest parts of the world. We are rich, and I feel we are obligated to help — personally giving to charity out of our own pockets, but also governmentally and corporately. And if our governments and corporations are not doing enough, we must tell them we want more done! Canada (and other industrialized countries) should fulfill their obligations by setting aside 0.7% of their GNPs for foreign aid (currently Canada, which invented the 0.7% figure in 1969’s Pearson Commission, has back-slid and gives about 0.25%). Write your MP! If you’re from another country, check your country’s report card (preliminary 2004 data here), get involved and write to your leaders.
Stephen Lewis points out that fighting HIV/AIDS is, in large part, a battle of education. So — back to the original topic — perhaps these laptop computers, bringing hope of better information access to sub-Saharan Africa (for example), could be one part of the solution? Somebody has to pay for them, though, and that’s where we all, individually and collectively, have a role to play…