The Case for Technology for Developing Regions

Опубликовано 6 сентября 2016, 5:21

Moore's Law and the wave of technologies it enabled have led to tremendous improvements in productivity and the quality of life in the First World. Yet, technology has had almost no effect on the four billion people that make less than a dollar per day. In this talk I argue that decreasing costs of computing and wireless networking make this the right time to spread the benefits of technology, and that the biggest missing piece is a lack of focus on the problems that matter. After covering some example applications that have shown very high impact, I take an early look at the research agenda for developing regions. Finally, I examine some of the economic and social issues that are inherent in the space. My goal is to convince EECS researchers that technology for developing regions is an important and viable research topic.