[pmyjavec]

"and better access to technology for even the poorest folk"

I hear this one a lot, I don't think it matters or is relevant.

I've spent time in third world countries I met people sleeping, working and eating in rubish dumps, and they're not even considered the poorest! I didn't see them running around with technology, nor do I see how that would change there situation much.

[curioussavage]

I have also lived in a third world country among these people for years and saw a ton of evidence of the benefits of better access to tech. Even if they couldn't buy it. Easier communications, access to information etc. so... anecdotes right.

[pmyjavec]

It is excellent to hear this has been your experience.

[witty_username]

I live in India and many poor people have cellphones or basic smartphones. They did not have that earlier.

[akiselev]

> I hear this one a lot, do you have a source to prove this?

What kinds of source would be most convincing for such a broad question such as this? How about the fact that as many people have escaped extreme poverty since 1990 as there are human beings alive in Europe [1]? Average global purchasing power more than doubling [2]? Or maybe global agricultural output growing more than twice as fast as the world population since 2000 [3]? Life expectancy at birth increasing by more than 10% [4]? The massive decline in fatalities from armed conflicts [5]? Growths in industrial productivity that dwarfs even the industrial revolution [6]? How about access to technology that can instantly connect you to half of the world [7]? Price of renewable energy finally at parity with fossil fuels even in the face of the Republican party [8]? The number of people living under elected representatives instead of authoritarian regimes nearly doubling [9]?

Better yet, what evidence do you have that invalidates all of the above? Even if you're the world's ultimate nit-picker, the data is overwhelmingly positive.

> I've spent time in third world countries and not even the poorest people were working and eating in rubish dumps and guess there slept?

I didn't see them running around with technology.

The only region in the world where less than half the population has access to at least mobile broadband is Subsaharan Africa. Even now the wealthiest nations have citizens that fall through cracks in the system and live in destitution but the big picture is clear: the world is better off now than it ever has been.

[1] http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/report-2013/mdg-report...

[2] http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=xx&v=67

[3] http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do...

[4] https://www.clio-infra.eu/datasets/search

[5] http://www.hsrgroup.org/docs/Publications/HSR2013/HSRP_Repor...

[6] http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/global-economic-monit...

[7] http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.P2

[8] http://sunmetrix.com/sunmetrix-grid-parity-map-for-residenti...

[9] https://ourworldindata.org/democracy/

[bamboozled]

If you're starving and working in a toxic garbage dump, how does a smart phone or cell phone improve the situation? Honest question.

If the government is corrupt, and steal infact money from citizenss, is a cell phone going to put food on your table? It could actually be used against a population. Think mass surveillance, censorship or false news for example.

Also, the OP said the "poorest", from my own observations the "poorest" will not have money for cellphones, electricity or credit. You might be referring to less wealthy people than you, but the poorest?

Look at all the tech available in the US and 50 million still go hungry [1].

I believe amongst technologsits there is a false view that technology "just makes things better". The reality is technology is a tool and it has to be used for the right applications by those of us with good intentions. Modern technology offers potential, it's not always essential.

[1] http://indiafacts.org/americas-most-desperate-why-are-50-mil...

[Hondor]

It does't matter how poor the poorest people are. They'll always be extremely poor. The important change is that their numbers are falling. If your job is to work with the poorest people, you won't see the ones who never became poor in the first place due to global improvements in quality of life.

[macintux]

> If you're starving and working in a toxic garbage dump, how does a smart phone or cell phone improve the situation?

It's worth remembering the incredulous responses to seeing photos of Syrian refugees with smartphones.

They rather missed the point: smartphones are a lifeline for many poor, desperate people. Internet access enables communications, enables research into fundamentals like "where can I find someone willing to save my life?"

[MarkMc]

Perhaps these days people are less likely to be living and working in rubbish dumps.

What are your thoughts on these graphs?

https://twitter.com/Sheril_/status/821356927158484992?s=09

[pmyjavec]

I think those graphs seem to present positive and hopeful metrics about the state of the world and the future; However, I also believe they're an over simplification of the extremely complex and interconnected world which live in, glossing over other important issues we face, climate change, mass-extinction events, pollution, inequality, and debt to name a few.

I'm not claiming graphs like that are bad, incorrect or utterly useless, what I am saying is it's important to see things for yourself and formulate opinions based on real, authentic experience. Which is why I enjoy travelling and interacting with people firsthand.

As far as I'm concerned the quote “Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” is still extremely valid.