Why are 90% of the world's products and services designed for 10% of the world's population? This is the question driving the approach of Stanford's course at the D-School called Alternative Design for Extreme Affordability. The course is a response to a fatigue by designers and engineers who grew tired of making products that only served a tiny fraction of the world's population. The vision of the school is to tackle the world's most hairy problems.
The founding architects at Singularity University are not asking quite the same question though they are interested in better serving that 90% of the population by using accelerating technology to impact a billion plus people in 10 years. Their vision is informed by the recognition that the pattern and pace of innovation has essentially remained at a consistent rate. But there is a point in which the technological innovation hits an exponential growth rate in its ability to be "improved." With modern technology we have hit that exponential growth rate and because of computers we are now reaching new frontiers in bio tech, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, medicine and neuroscience at rates most of us never in imagined would occur in our life time.
But in my opinion the two approaches are light years apart. Though the two institutions are theoretically attempting to address this 90% of the population that remains critically under served by technological advances, affordability still remains an enormous barrier to access.
This is fodder for a much deeper discussion and debate but for the purposes of this blog, let's compare the utility, affordability and availability of a $10 treadle pump for someone living on $2 per day with a "printer" that can construct a house in one day for $3,000.
Let me close by provoking some debate with a few questions to consider. Embedded in these two approaches is an implicit notion of affordability and a view of the end user. The treadle pump has been designed in the field side by side with end user which has resulted in a more empathetically designed product. But the absence of the end user in mind when considering a product designed using accelerating technology leaves one to ask who are these products really designed for and which class of people will these products serve in the end? With that in mind, how can one distribute products that were designed to affect 1 billion + people if they aren't affordable. Or will the technology be imposed on a population without considering the repercussions?
In the end, it comes down to an issue of class. And cost determines which class has access to a innovative product or service. So, are accelerating technologies really a solution for some of the world's most intractable problems that affect a billion plus people if the price point remains out of reach for those living on dollars a day?
4 comments:
"So, are accelerating technologies really a solution for some of the world's most intractable problems that affect a billion plus people if the price point remains out of reach for those living on dollars a day?"
My guess, would be that maybe the technologies themselves are not the solution. However, maybe they will lead to an environment when the solution can emerge. I can't remember who said it first "It's the people who are the network, the technology is just the tool".
Thanks for blogging this by the way!
Rich
Great post, Kirsten. I'd love to ask about services - a lot of development involves this area of enterprise, but it's often difficult to measure. How do we promote a strong (and quality) services sector in developing countries? Or should we shift focus to manufacturing - as Eric quoted in his post "without manufacturing there is no (development) sustainability". Is this true?
Richard - I think you are right in saying that technologies are not in themeslves a solution. It's similar to what I've been learning from you...don't start with the tool first, start with the need you are trying to serve then you can find a tool that will serve to address the need with some necessary tweaks of course.
I think another important aspect of problem solving is the process. Time and time again, problem solving is a people centered process. The most widely applicable solutions are not the brainchildren of one but more often many. And the process by which solutions are discovered are almost always a little messy.
Hey Big Al,
Your question hints at a request for a penultimate answer, what is the silver bullet approach for solving the puzzle of fledging economies in the developing world? My response is that it is always a mix. One size never fits all. Ideally, a thriving service sector should be developed in concert with a well founded manufacturing sector.
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