Tech’s No Panacea for Saving the World, Says Computer Scientist

By Nicole Wallace
Chronicle of Philanthropy

Kentaro Toyama has a Ph.D. in computer science and spent more than a decade as a researcher at Microsoft, so he’s an unlikely champion for the argument that people — not technology — are the key to solving tough social problems. But that’s exactly the case he makes in his new book, Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change From the Cult of Technology.

Mr. Toyama co-founded Microsoft Research India in 2004, and during his five years there he was involved in more than 50 research projects that sought to use technology to improve the lives of the poor.

Although many of the projects yielded interesting results, Mr. Toyama was surprised at how few had a real impact on the people they were trying to help.

When he investigated why some projects made a difference and others didn’t, it all came down to the organizations that carried out the programs, says Mr. Toyama, who is now a professor of community information at the University of Michigan.

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