In this post, we explore the role of technology in the nation buiding, Importance of technology, types and the roles of technology in nations building.
INTRODUCTION
Science and Technology hold the key to the progress and development of any nation. Technology plays a fundamental role in wealth creation, improvement of the quality of life and real economic growth and transformation in any society. According to Investopedia (a thought aggregator in the investment space), a developed economy is typically characteristic of a developed country with a relatively high level of economic growth and security.
It says that the standard criteria for evaluating a country’s level of development are income per capita (that is amount of money earned per person in a nation or geographic region) or per capita gross domestic product, the level of industrialization, the general standard of living (our earning affects this, emphasis mine), and the amount of technological infrastructure. We see technology infrastructure here as a measure of what represents a developed economy, just like we saw that 7 out of 10 trillion-dollar corporations are tech-based in my previous article titled, “Everything rises and falls on technology”.
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It then becomes imperative to juxtapose the Investopedia definition with the Business Development Bank of Canada’s (BDC) definition of a developed country — also called an industrialized country. It has a mature and sophisticated economy, usually measured by gross domestic product (GDP) and/or average income per resident. Developed countries have advanced technological infrastructure and have diverse industrial and service sectors. We see clearly from both thought centers that technology infrastructure and human development are jugular to a properly developed economy.
And that when people are trained to become sophisticated in their work, by what work-demand requires globally, a developed economy is a direct derivative. For any successful economy, technology becomes a catalyst for social change. The role of technology in community development is to give power and a voice to people within the larger ecosystem. It enables citizens to create a better future for themselves. Though the widespread use of technology has transformed almost every part of our lives, there are still huge gaps to be filled.
WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY?
The word technology comes from two Greek words, transliterated techne and logos. Techne means art, skill, craft, or the way, manner, or means by which a thing is gained. Logos means word, the utterance by which inward thought is expressed, a saying, or an expression. So, literally, technology means words or discourse about the way things are gained.
It can also be said that Technology is the system consisting of the technological process, technological objects, technological knowledge, developers of technological objects, users of technological objects, and the worldview (i.e., the beliefs about things and the value of things that shape how one views the world) that has emerged from and drives the technological process. This is what Ellul referred to as the technological system. In the remainder of this article, I will use all five senses, but when I use the term technology by itself, I mean the fifth and most comprehensive sense.
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TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY
- Artificial Intelligence
- Information Technology
- Space Technology
- Entertainment Technology
- Medical Technology
- Operational Technology
- Assistive Technology
- Communication Technology
- Hospitality Technology
- Superintelligence
- Business Technology
- Agriculture Technology
- Educational Technology
- Product and Food Technology
- Marine Technology
- Industrial and Manufacturing Technology
- Military, Sports, Vehicle, Aerospace Technology
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Importance of Technology
Technology is an essential part of our daily lives. Every other task we do today relies heavily on technology. We depend so much on it that we can’t even imagine our lives without technology. We use hundreds of gadgets in our homes, schools, and offices.
- Improves Efficiency
- Enhances communication
- Easy Information Access
- Helps in a new business
- Technology saves time
- technology saves cost
- Gives competitive cost
- Allows for innovation
- Faster Decision making
Roles Of Technology in Nations Building
For any successful economy, technology becomes a catalyst for social change. The role of technology in community development is to give power and a voice to people within the larger ecosystem. It enables citizens to create a better future for themselves. Though the widespread use of technology has transformed almost every part of our lives, there are still huge gaps to be filled. However, digital literacy programmes show promise towards overcoming these hurdles. Simple solutions, such as providing information to the community through Internet-enabled devices, highlight the role technology plays in accelerating development.
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Replicating these ideas with due involvement of community members will multiply the reach. This, coupled with developmental interventions, also improves the quality of their life. Therefore, it is imperative that philanthropic organizations, government and civic bodies embed technology as a critical intervention into their developmental programmes. Since Internet penetration is directly proportional to increasing economic growth, it has the potential to improve our economic standing within the world economy.
Disruptive innovation technologies play a critical role in addressing the challenges faced by communities in areas such as education and healthcare. It is important to develop technological innovations that are suitable to solve problems faced by the community. Seeking regular feedback from them helps develop real disruptive technologies, which can be ultimately scaled up with maximum adoption.
In education, for instance, creating pathways to incorporate technology into educational practices is highly critical to the stakeholders within the education system. Affordable technology-driven opportunities could be scaled up rapidly across the country. India could be transformed into a knowledge haven by implementing innovative ideas that enable students to have access to new and interactive learning experiences.
Technology can also engage teachers in professional development. However, one of the key things to learn here is to see how we reuse existing technology, and put it to use through collaborative efforts. In the development sector, technology accelerates change that would otherwise occur at a slow pace. To cite an example, let’s talk about agriculture.
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The lack of information is often crippling farmers who do not have access to weather reports or information on new varieties of seeds. Real-time updates on weather, soil conditions, plant pests, crops availability and best practices, not to mention market prices, is crucial content that is currently in very short supply. Technology along with a local connect can play a critical role in addressing these challenges and keep the farmers prepared to handle any vagaries promptly. This connect will pave a future of scalable progress for a vast number of communities, and offer platforms for the exchange of knowledge and practices to best develop farming.
Undoubtedly, technology has already had a transformative effect on the development sector. Perhaps, it should be done in a way that the communities are able to sustain themselves, without the organizational support in the long run, in addition to the efforts of the intervening organizations to scale it up. Technology, wisely selected, applied and accepted by the local culture, ensures improved economic and social infrastructure. It serves as an ideal support system that can leapfrog community development programmes, for the betterment of the society at large.