Pandemic driven technology: A visit to alternative practices.
This week was spent self-reflecting on the meaning of the term ‘technology’. When one thinks of technology, the brain is assailed by visuals of self-driving cars, lab-grown chickens, robots speaking to humans, and alien invasions. Some think of it from a point of safety, others from a point of ease. But these images differ from place to place, and from one generation to another. I think of technology from a ‘process’ perspective — a point of trying to understand how, and the way we use tech.
I am not alone in this view — a few schools of thought believe that at the most basic level technology is really just about the tools, knowledge, techniques, and processes that humans have developed over time to solve problems. On the other side of the debate are those who believe that technology is linked to devices developed through the application of scientific thinking.
Whichever side of the debate one falls, it leaves both sides with the question of where we find solutions to social non-scientific problems. One of such problems is migration. I know, because I am a recent migrant from Africa to Europe. The big problems are instantly obvious because everyone talks to you about them; possessing the skills required to earn a living, learning a new language in your middle ages, adjusting to the drudgery of fending for yourself…