Using modern technology to enrich the sustainable development goals Dr Mohamed Eltawabty

Digital technologies, given their rapid rate of diffusion through globalisation, have become “glocal” in nature. They are becoming a mainstay of society, with their adoption further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The policies and governance approaches shaping them make the forward march to (more) digitalisation a concern for developed and developing countries alike.

This so-called glocal aspect complicates the question of what comprises digital transformation as well as the role of the international community in delivering on the governance of these technologies. Digital divides, for instance, are a major concern. They go beyond the divide between the connected and unconnected, they also manifest among the connected in both developed and developing nations. Digital divides take on access, skills, language, and gendered dimensions, to name a few. Digital transformation agendas must consider this diversity to ensure that advances in digitalisation do not widen existing inequalities and inadvertently create new ones.

Similarly, tech governance is not only about establishing guardrails for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence; it also addresses socio-economic, cultural and political complexities that predate, and are exacerbated by, digitalisation. Market solutions alone, however promising and exciting, will not solve these intractable and interconnected challenges. For instance, driving down costs of Internet access – from infrastructure to connecting devices – will not per se directly result in more people contributing to and benefiting from digitalisation. The demand-side drivers for adoption are laden with inequalities. To illustrate, adverse socio-cultural norms like gendered disparities in access to education and income opportunities are mirrored in who gains access and who can meaningfully use and even create digital technologies. Digital governance at the global and local levels must therefore advance coherent, sustainable policies and requisite investments in eliminating systemic barriers – not merely fixate on the technologies of the day.