Technology may have played a significant role in the fight against world poverty. But not all technology is helping the cause, says writer Andy Amsler in an article in Global Poverty.
“If Techonomy is really about solutions, then the ideas and conversations it inspires need to be forward-looking, not bent on simply re-hashing successes of the past.”
“Technomy”, the combined word for technology and economy, is defined as the “organized activities related to the invention, development, production, distribution and consumption of technology-enhanced goods and services that a society uses to address the problem of scarcity and to enhance the quality of life.”
Amsler articulates his disappointment in the recently concluded “Haiti Tech Meet-Up” organized by the U.S. State Department. The event, which discussed the use of technology in Haiti relief efforts, was merely a “political stunt,” according to Amsler.
“I hope that [an upcoming conference] doesn’t suffer the same fate as the Haiti Tech Meet-up — all talk and no meat and potatoes,” he writes.
In August, a techonomy conference hosted by the three former Fortune magazine editors (David Kirkpatrick, Peter Petre, and Brent Schlender) will feature technology powerhouses like Bill Gates and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
