I am curious to hear what you think about the values Western technologies fail to replicate in a technology deployed to the Global South.
For instance, Western technologies deployed to the Global South (in some cases) might not be compatible - what values do you think are missing from these technologies - that the West ignores?
The proponents of technology transfer to the Global South often ignore the political economy: Who gains? Who loses? How can one navigate differences? All too commonly, little attention is paid to local actors, viz., communities, government bodies, nongovernment and civil society organizations, the private sector, research institutes, and universities. Discounting obvious winners, one must know who is not given the chance to create, access, use, and benefit from technology transfer.
The resilience of the "technology transfer" mentality owes also to the political economy of development assistance, viz., cultural, economic, institutional, intellectual, and political interests. Who, exactly, is pushing for a technology solution? Why?
The closer technology transfer is to local challenges the more likely it is to be successful. So, there must be a strong focus on end-users: they must frame the problem, define and shape innovation over time, and make it more inclusive and fit for purpose. Toward this, with appreciative inquiry, we need to revisit knowledge of what has worked—how, when, where, why, and for whom—and what has not. We can also look at old ideas and things that were innovated long ago in new contexts. We must enlarge the space for dialogue and listen more.
The most innovative thing to do may well be to fortify political will.
Counter-question: What are Eastern (or Northern or Southern) technologies? In my opinion, in the explanation of the question, you connect the technological development perspective with the problem of social value bases. Technologies only develop their moral quality in social application - simple example: If modern defense technology is used to defend against possible external aggressors, then its use can undoubtedly be morally justified. If it is used by the aggressor to attack his peaceful neighbors (see Ukraine/Russia war), this undoubtedly has a morally negative connotation. In other words, it is only the way in which people use technologies, namely their motivations characterized by values or non-values, that brings the social value bases into the discussion.
In addition, technological development is also difficult to associate with geographical designations - China, undoubtedly in the east, uses the same technologies as Europe or the USA. The development strategy pursued a few decades ago, the less developed countries of the South with a more adapted (older) agricultural technology, which should be more labor intensive than the then modern industrial agricultural production, unfortunately did not lead to any positive effects. As a result, these countries fell into a food shortage due to low productivity, which made them dependent on other countries (unfortunately Ukraine and its aggressor Russia). As a result, the most modern systems in the developing countries were used in information and communication technology, which have strengthened these systems enormously even without existing networks and with a significantly lower investment volume. But even these can be misused, as the examples in Russia and China make clear: because this undoubtedly useful technology can also be used to set up totalitarian surveillance systems that are contrary to all human rights. The application of technology is of course about the social value bases, which are positively shaped only in the case of open societies with decentralized democratic control while respecting human rights. For details see
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330365094_European_Values_and_Neo-Nationalism_in_Conflict_Europe_in_between_Progressive_Integration_and_Exit_Options
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358638904_Globalization_Societal_Risk_Management_and_Individual_Responsibility_Lack_of_Education_in_Values_and_Leadership_Skills
https://study.com/academy/lesson/gerhard-lenskis-theories-of-sociocultural-evolution-social-stratification-technology.html
Gerhard Lenski was a macrosociologist who considered technology critical for a society's survival and argued that how much societies advance depends on their levels of information and technology.
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With respect to the tech-know-logial approach of Lenski, Yinka Ajibola , we can discern that each technical tool (hardware) requires an equal level of information (software). To receive economic value from a technical tool requires the ability to convert information (data) into knowledge (experience), i.e. it requires a human learning curve, with respect to the factor: time period of training.
Learning Curve Theory is based on the concept that the more an individual repeats a process or activity, the more adept they become at that activity. This translates to lower input costs and higher overall output.
The drivers of learning curves are (1) task change, (2) adaptation, and (3) vertical transportation time. They can be categorized according to the way they affect labor productivity. Task change and adaptation affect the learning development process, which means that they can influence the amount of learning that workers acquire.
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https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/learning-curve.asp
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