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Rethink, Retool, Reboot : Technology as If People and Planet Mattered - Simon Trace

Rethink, Retool, Reboot

Technology as If People and Planet Mattered

By: Simon Trace

Hardcover | 15 July 2016

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Technology underpins human development. We need it to provide the very basics of a minimum standard of life - food, water, shelter, health and education. But a significant proportion of the world's population do not have these basics today. And while a fifth of the world's population lacks access to technologies fundamental to a basic standard of living, unfettered use of technology by those who have it brings its own problems - including pollution, global warming and threats to the sustainable future of humanity. So why are we so slow to address these issues? Why is it that the drivers of innovation mean we are more likely to see research into a cure for male baldness than a malaria vaccine or into methods for extracting shale gas as opposed to solutions to store renewable energy?

We need to rethink the purpose of our technological endeavor and how we provide access to and govern the use of technology today.

We need to retool - to change the alignment of our innovation systems to deliver technology that is socially useful and addresses the key challenges of poverty and environmental sustainability.

Above all, our relationship with technology needs a reboot. We need a different frame of reference - Technology Justice - to provide a radically different approach to our oversight and governance of the development and use of technology.

Rethink, Retool, Reboot addresses vital questions regarding the future of our world and the people living in it. It should be read by academics, students, activists and all those interested in international development and the environment.
Industry Reviews
"Simon Trace takes his inspiration from Schumacher's Small is Beautiful but extends the metaphor of magnitude. Through careful use of data, case study and analysis he argues that scale is not in itself beautiful, but is the key to sustainability and impact. In reflecting on scale, on how small an intervention needs to be or how large it can conceivably be, Trace gets to the heart of technological innovation for development: it's all about perspective. Trace shows us that if technology justice is about one thing it's about bringing together perspectives that matter -- historical, contextual, technological, public, private and communal -- to shape scalable, sustainable innovation. Trace's book is in some respects a 21st century reboot of Schumacher's work and a hugely important contribution to our thinking around technology for development."--James Smith, Professor of African & Development Studies, University of Edinburgh
"Technology should never be considered as an ultimatum, that just because we can do something, we should. Even Winston Churchill who was fascinated by and obsessed with science and technology once famously said that it should be 'on tap, but not on top'. Simon Trace issues a comprehensive invitation to rethink what we ask of technology. Public debate is full of reports hypnotised by technological novelty and innovation for its own sake. But Trace reveals how low-tech solutions can often outperform high-tech ones -- delivering multiple benefits to the people who need them most. Rethink, Retool, Reboot says it is time to move on, and critically assess each technology - whether it is the product of a small farmers workshop or a giant corporation's laboratory - to find what will really help us all thrive within planetary boundaries."--Andrew Simms, co-director New Weather Institute, author Cancel the Apocalypse

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