Between the Binary: Tech and the Global South

In this episode, Sanjana Hattotuwa, special advisor at ICT4Peace Foundation and research fellow in Dunedin, Aotearoa NZ, prompts us to ask better questions about online content: how does it inform our world view? What values does it advance? And how do we wrest control of it?

Drawing the analogy of DJs and clubs, Sanjana breaks down the role of content creators and the platforms that host them, as well as what it all means for the millions of users in the Global South who have long “begged” for greater attention to these issues before the West woke up to them.

Rasheed Griffith sits down with Elina Noor to outline the technology landscape, competing priorities, and structural constraints in the Caribbean. Cautioning observers to see the Caribbean for what it actually is rather than what we want to see in it, he debunks assumptions about China’s presence and influence in the region through initiatives like the Digital Silk Road.

In this sobering reflection on the continued impact of systemic injustice in the digital age, Sara Cole Stratton argues powerfully for the inclusion of different worldviews and knowledge systems. Her unique perspective of viewing digital tech through a Māori lens is borne of first-hand encounters with racism and the effects of colonial imposition on everyday life and decision-making, from institutionalized laws to algorithmic bias in technology. Sara is the founder of Māori Lab in NZ and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for AI Fairness.

In this episode, Elina Noor surveys the landscape of Brazil’s and Latin America’s digital priorities and challenges with Virgilio Almeida, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil and Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University.

In this episode, Imen Ghedhioui, former advisor to Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Transformation, explains why the intersection between the behavioural sciences and technology is crucial for digital access, inclusion, and integration. She talks about the localization of technology to further those aims, and underscores the importance of agency in interacting with tech – of personal agency vis-a-vis data and of national agency in digital infrastructure development.

As one of Southeast Asia’s smaller countries, Cambodia is often overlooked and underrated. Yet, the country’s youth dividend, technological leapfrogging, and economic growth rate over the past decade warrant a closer look at its potential. In outlining Cambodia’s priorities and challenges in the digital space, Siriwat Chhem, Director of the Centre for Inclusive Digital Economy at the Asian Vision Institute, explains why context, functionality, and unintended consequences all matter in making tech meaningful.

In this episode, Merih Angin, Assistant Professor at Koç University in Turkey, underscores the criticality of viewing tech holistically. She unpacks why a cross-disciplinary and multi-perspective approach is important, and dives deep into the diversity of tech priorities among various stakeholders in one country - Turkey - alone.

In this episode of Between the Binary, host Elina Noor speaks with Moliehi Makumane, a researcher with the Security and Technology Programme at UNIDIR and a former cyber diplomat. Here, Moliehi prompts us to apply a broader lens to thinking about technology in a development setting by unpacking South Africa’s digital priorities, positioning amid powerful state and industry partners, indigenous innovations for the world (“create local, think global”), as well as the challenges of South-South technological cooperation.

From great power rivalry to gender inclusivity, Fitri Bintang Timur, Researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia, outlines how Indonesia is navigating its digital priorities amid disruption and decoupling. Fitri reminds us that despite the headlines, all challenges are ultimately local and capacity-building efforts must be sensitive to realities on the ground.

Farish Noor, Professor of History at the University of Malaya, sets the scene for thinking about the present-day role and implications of technology by looking back at the relationship between history and technology. Farish traces the trajectory of technology, weaponization, and colonialism; unpacks the link between data and power; and offers some thoughts about how to break the cycle of the past for a more constructive digital future.