Technology and Inequality

Technology and Inequality

 

Why do we keep trying to solve poverty with technology? A new book by Dan Greene, The Promise of Access, shows why it is so hard to get rid of the idea—which he terms the access doctrine—that the problem of poverty can be solved with the right tools and the right skills. He argues that as libraries and schools pursue technological solutions, they win praise and funding but also marginalize and alienate the populations they serve. Learn more about how this plays out in Washington, DC, where Greene examined organizational change in technology startups, public libraries, and a charter school, and begin thinking about our path forward.