Ten Frontier Technologies for International Development

The UK Department for International Development, which recently established a Frontier Technologies Livestreaming initiative, commissioned this report. It examines five categories, comprising two technologies each:

·         Manufacturing and consumption: 3D printing, collaborative economy tools

·         Connectivity: alternative internet delivery, internet of things

·         Transportation and logistics: unmanned aerial vehicles/drones, airships

·         Fresh water: solar desalination, atmospheric water condensers

·         Clean energy and air: household-scale batteries, smog-reducing technologies

This list of 10 technologies derived from a consultation involving DFID staff and advisers, as well as people voting online. And frontier technologies are defined as potentially disruptive technologies that can address large-scale challenges or opportunities.

The authors point to multiple benefits from the take-up of these tools, including provision of goods and services to those currently excluded, job creation, and of course economic growth. But they also give some caveats: potential detriments should be carefully considered, and technological solutions shouldn’t be the first port of call if they’re inappropriate to a particular context.

The report abounds with examples of technologies that could have poverty-reducing potential. For instance, Hello Tractor allows short-term tractor rental via SMS. There is greening potential in the use of catalytic converters and smog-reducing towers (which supposedly can turn dirty air into jewellery). 3D-printed umbilical clamps might save lives in medically underserved areas or in humanitarian emergencies. Go-Jek has been referred to as Uber for motorcycles. Dew collectors could gather drinking water from the air.

More broadly, it has been suggested that the collaborative economy, which uses social networks and technology to make use of underused resources, has the potential to reduce financial corruption.

Yet a key concern is “the tendency for the benefits of new technologies to accrue to those actors who already enjoy material and other advantages, meaning that key groups – women, children, elderly, lower socio-economic groups, ethnic minorities – are less able to gain a fair share” (page 23). Thus it is important to ensure that the application of frontier technologies in development does not exacerbate inequality. Ramifications for employment should also be considered; for instance, 3D printing may decrease manufacturing waste and transport needs, but this also involves displacing the jobs of manufacturers and shippers.

Overall, the report’s tone is one of cautious exploration. To give one example:

“A technological fix is not always the answer to a problem, but frontier technologies can highlight the limits of current thinking and suggest new ways of approaching challenges. For example, solar desalination has the potential to overcome water insecurity by moving beyond approaches to better management of existing freshwater sources, to focus on novel sources of fresh water, as well as being a sustainable means of accessing that water.” (page 10)

Available from:

http://www.ids.ac.uk/publication/ten-frontier-technologies-for-international-development

Further reading:

Ballari, M M and H J H Brouwers (2013), “Full scale demonstration of air-purifying pavement”, Journal of Hazardous Materials Vols 254–255, pages 406–414, available at http://opensample.info/full-scale-demonstration-of-air-purifying-pavement.

Chance, Tom (2009), “Towards sustainable residential communities; the Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) and beyond”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 21, No 2, pages 527–544, available at http://eau.sagepub.com/content/21/2/527.abstract.

United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (2015), Feasibility Study for a United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2106Feasibility-Study-for-a-United-Nations-Technology-Bank-for-the-Least-Developed-Countries.pdf.

Book note prepared by Christine Ro