Digital technology and development: Overcoming challenges with a rights-based approach

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Over the last 20 years, digital technologies have reshaped the scope of international development. From the Internet of things and open data to artificial intelligence and robotics, emerging technologies have presented unprecedented opportunities for social and economic transformation across the world.

But their implementation is riddled with many challenges, not least because they can be abused by those in power once the development project or programme is over. Capacity4dev spoke to Dr Ben Wagner, Assistant Professor and Director of the Privacy & Sustainable Computing Lab at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, about the impact of digital technologies on development policy officers’ everyday work.