Unintended Consequences

Increased Inequality

"Among other things, the centre in this village offers information on wave heights and weather patterns (information that Thuradi says is already available on television). Some years ago, the centre also used satellites to map the movements of large schools of fish in the ocean. But according to another fisherman, this only benefited the rich: poor fishermen, lacking motorboats and navigation equipment, could not travel far enough, or determine their location precisely enough, to use the maps.
Such stories bring to mind the uneven results of earlier technology-led development efforts. Development experts are familiar with the notion of "rusting tractors"—a semi-apocryphal reference to imported agricultural technologies that littered poor countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Mr Kenny says he similarly anticipates "a fair number of dusty rooms with old computers piled up in them around the countryside."
"Given the mixed opinions on the ground, then, the real issue is not whether investing in ICTs can help development (it can, in some cases, and for some people), but whether the overall benefits of doing so outweigh those of investing in, say, education or health" - The Economist, March 12, 2005 "Behind the digital divide"