The Digital Divide

1
The Digital Divide

• PSI 2007
• Kaido Kikkas

This document uses the GNU Free Documentation
License (v1.2 or newer).
2
Some definitions

• Wikipedia "The digital divide is the gap between
  those with regular, effective access to digital
  technologies and those without.
• UNDP 2001 report on new technologies "The
  digital divide is a reflection of broader
  socioeconomical inequalities"

3
Generations of IT

• 1st - the great machines
• 2nd - the minicomputer
• 3rd - the PC
• 4th - the local area networks
• 5th - the Internet

4
Transition costs

• At every transition, the IT has
• Infiltrated from machine rooms to offices and
  homes
• Reached new users, whose needs have quickly begun
  to guide and dominate the development of the
  technology
• Destroyed and given birth to whole professions
  and industries
• Transformed and shaped organizations and
  communities, management and power, control and
  free speech
• Shaped both work and leisure
• Shaped the foundations of the economy
• Split the world more deeply between winners and
  losers

5
IT as the knife

• killers have knives, surgeons have too
• IT has both inclusive and separative potential
  it is up to users and decision makers which side
  prevails (Use the Force, Luke!)
• The current divide has its roots in all the
  mentioned aspects of transition but it does not
  need to be that way

6
Dimensions of the DD physical access

• UNDP 2001
• 79 of all Internet users lived in OECD
  countries, which contained only 14 of the
  worlds people
• Africa had less international bandwidth than São
  Paulo. Latin Americas bandwidth, in turn, was
  roughly equal to that of Seoul.
• In October 1997, Africa had 267 times less
  Internet hosts than North America, by October
  2000, this had grown to a multiple of 540.
• And even in the developed countries, the
  disparities exist (remember Manuel Castells
  talking about the "Fourth World").

7
...

• On the positive side
• in OECD countries excluding the United States the
  share of Internet users quadrupled from 7 to 28
  between 1998 and 2000.
• The numbers also went from 1.7 million to 9.8
  million users in Brazil, from 3.8 million to 16.9
  million in China and from 2,500 to 25,000 in
  Uganda. Yet because they are starting from very
  low bases, the percentage remains small.
• NB! electricity had not yet reached about 2
  billion people (1/3 of the world's population) in
  2001 gt the digital inclusion needs some
  prerequisites!

8
Dimensions of DD Legal issues

• UNDP 2001
• In 1998 the 29 OECD countries spent 520 billion
  on research and development - more than the
  combined economic output of the worlds 30
  poorest countries
• OECD countries, with 19 of the worlds people,
  also accounted for 91 of the 347,000 new patents
  issued 1998 (and in the United States, the number
  of claimed patents went up from 77,000 in 1985 to
  169,000 in 1999)
• Other examples
• proprietary research
• abandonware

9
Dimensions of DD Affordability

• Liberalisation of telecom markets gt competition
  gt lower prices?
• In 1998, major changes were made in
  telecommunication policies in Europe, resulting
  in more free market, more competition and
  dropping prices
• At the same time, in many developing countries,
  telecommunication is still centralised and often
  strictly controlled by the state
• Probably not the main factor, but still has its
  influence

10
Dimensions of DD Gender disparity

• UNDP 2001
• men make up 86 of users in Ethiopia, 83 in
  Senegal, 70 in China, 67 in France and 62 in
  Latin America
• Meanwhile in other places, the gender gap is
  closing. In Thailand, the share of female users
  jumped from 35 in 1999 to 49 in 2000. In the
  United States, women made up 38 of users in 1996
  but 51 in 2000. In Brazil, where Internet use
  has increased rapidly during the recent years,
  women account for 47 of users.
• Strongly influenced by overall equality

11
Dimensions of DD Age disparity

• UNDP 2001
• In Australia 1824-year-olds are five times more
  likely to be Internet users than those above 55
• In Chile 74 of users are under 35 in China that
  share is 84
• It is likely that in developed countries, the age
  reflects more choices and attitudes than
  necessities and obstacles

12
Dimensions of DD Education

• UDNP 2001
• In Bulgaria the poorest 65 of the population
  accounts for only 29 of Internet users
• In Chile 89 of Internet users have had tertiary
  education, in Sri Lanka 65, and in China 70
• in many places, this may reflect rather the
  income level than the education as such
• However, the problem becomes much more visible in
  developing countries no access to elementary
  infrastructure

13
Dimensions of DD Rural vs urban

• UNDP 2001
• In China the 15 least connected provinces, with
  600 million people, have only 4 million Internet
  users while Shanghai and Beijing, with 27 million
  people, have 5 million users
• In the Dominican Republic 80 of Internet users
  live in the capital, Santo Domingo
• In Thailand 90 live in urban areas, which
  contain only 21 of the countrys population
• Among Indias 1.4 million Internet connections,
  more than 1.3 million are in the five states of
  Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and
  Mumbai
• Failures in regional politics (ct Estonia!)

14
Dimensions of DD other issues

• Ethnic disparity
• in the US, Asian Americans have the highest
  penetration rates, a little ahead of white
  citizens. Hispanic and African American citizens
  have considerably lower access
• A report from Finland (a top country in terms of
  networked society) cites problems with
• elderly people
• immigrants
• gt education and language skills

15
Pekka Himanen 2001 vs 2004

• 2001 3 models, Finland as a positive example
• 2004 4 models, Finland in front of choice
• Word of warning if we go on with business as
  usual, inequality and marginalisation will
  continue to become aggravated both globally and
  nationally the wealth gap between the top and
  bottom 20-s is about 751

16
The models

• Silicon Valley
• "leaving the weak behind", the neo-liberal model.
  High price paid in California (growing inequality
  and crime rate, the largest prison population in
  the US etc). Ct. Estonia!
• Singapore
• race to the bottom, tax-competition model.
  Depends on cheapness of labour force!
• Europe
• the dead hand of passivity, welfare-state
  model. The main problem is the threat of
  stagnation - trying to maintain the
  industrial-era welfare state without allowing the
  changes. society of envy

17
The fourth model

• Ubiquitous computing in a networked society
  proactive society based on community/hacker
  ethic. But this is the topic of the next
  lecture...
• "It is often thought that people gain access to
  technological innovations - more effective
  medicine or transportation, the telephone or the
  Internet - once they have more income. This is
  true - economic growth creates opportunities for
  useful innovations to be created and diffused.
  But the process can also be reversed investments
  in technology, like investments in education, can
  equip people with better tools and make them more
  productive and prosperous. Technology is a tool,
  not just a reward, for growth and development."
  (UNDP 2001)