Efficiency, automation, integration, innovation: information and communication technologies (ICT) promise all of these and more. More specifically, the field of data for development (D4D) “ascribe[s] power and agency to data as a development actor” (Cinnamon, 2020, p. 215). How can data be a development actor? Cinnamon (2020) explains that in…
According to the media, techno-optimism is everywhere. There’s a lot of buzz around the metaverse, artificial intelligence, web 3, NFTs… the list goes on. But what do these terms actually mean, and what good (or bad) will they deliver for society? I had the chance to delve deeper into this…
Cryptocurrency has been hailed as revolutionary and disruptive, a “truth machine” and “the future of money and global finance”. Has cryptocurrency helped drive the development agenda in the Global South, or are the claims too good to be true? What is cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, emerged in the aftermath…
Working for a development research firm, data is a word I can’t escape. But what’s really interesting to me is not the data itself; it’s what it can mean when it becomes knowledge. If the circumstances are right, data can even lead to impact. I want to understand what ingredients…
The Data Kitchen is a group of development professionals curious about the good, the bad, and the ugly of data for development. All five of us are enrolled in the Masters of Communication for Development at Malmö University, Sweden. We’re learning that new technology and applications for data are often…
