Technology and Sustainable Development: The Promise and Pitfalls of Techno-Solutionism

Technological change is at the core of all major disruptions in human history, andrevolutions, wars, and general development are regularly connected to some sort oftechnological change. However, not all development is beneficial. While technology hasfueled great innovations and rapid development, the notion of sustainable developmenthas gained prominence as we now experience serious social, economic, and environmentalchallenges.This book examines whether technology can be used to fix the very problems caused bytechnology, as the various chapters examine different aspects related to how technologyhas brought us where we are today (which some will say is the best place humanity’s been ataccording to a range of metrics), and whether technology helps or hinders us in our effortsto solve the challenges we currently face. The issues discussed cover the three sustainabilitydimensions and include topics such as the materiality of AI, technology in education, AIfor gender equality, innovation and the digital divide, and how technology relates to power,the political system, and capitalism. The chapters all build on the theoretical backdrop oftechnological change, sustainable development, and the UN’s Sustainable DevelopmentGoals are actively used throughout this book, both to examine how these goals capture oroverlook central elements of sustainable development, and also to facilitate and create acommon framework of engagement between the chapters.This book provides a novel combination of traditional theories that are exploredthrough different case studies, providing the ground for a better understanding of howand when technology can – and cannot – be the enabler of sustainable development.It is thus an important resource for students of all disciplines, technologists, and thosedeveloping and applying new technologies. It is also a valuable resource for politiciansand regulators attempting to harness the power of technology for good, while limiting itsnegative potential.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has beenmade available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives(CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license. Funded by Østfold University College. Read more