oday’s world experiences mounting effects of multiple technological advancements, which are reconfiguring every facet of our lives. This reconfiguration features three major paradoxes. First, a widening global digital access gap—with 2.6 billion people remaining unconnected—leaves a third of the global population without access to the data and digital economy. Second, consumer data is increasingly extracted without the user’s informed consent or any benefit. Third, technological transformative capabilities, and funding, are increasingly concentrated among the largest tech companies. These asymmetries are intrinsic to the current shaping and design of digital capitalism.
Addressing these pathogens is no mere technological undertaking. It is a steep path forward, complicated by philosophical, ethical, societal, and political factors. Active and equal participation in the data and digital economy requires rethinking the foundations: democratic governance, participatory design, global solidarity, and structural equity. More than simply inclusive access, this is about a systemic transformation on how technological innovation is conceptualized, financed, governed, and deployed. Ultimately, it is about the public deliberation of value co–creation and distributed governance narratives of the digital era.
Techquity calls for fairness, transparency, accountability and inclusion in the design, development, deployment and governance of technology. It ensures that all people (especially those historically marginalized or excluded) equally benefit from technological progress. Techquity is all about technology that doesn’t widen economic, racial, and social inequalities. Techquity brings agency to people to shape and benefit from technological innovations in ways that reflect their values, realities, needs, and cultural foundations.
It’s time for global policies to rethink how we develop and use technology. It is critical to reshape the systems behind innovation, not only the tools. Technology should be easy to use, adaptable, repairable, circular, and democratic. Most of all, it should be fair and inclusive. Technological innovation must be driven by equity—not only by powerful platforms. The decision regarding the pace and direction of technological progress should be a collective endeavor.
Data flows and algorithmic systems must include embedded in their core certain principles that are vital to democracy. These are algorithmic transparency and explainability, accountability, and the guaranteed right of users to data sovereignty—from ownership and portability of their data to choosing who it gets shared with. These participatory governance structures could minimize present and future harm from technological innovations. They could also mitigate emerging forms of intentionally exploitative data extraction strategies so as to prevent the uncontrolled use of data in training algorithms, while ensuring that the economic, societal and political benefits are recognized and shared to those who deserve them
Technology cannot be allowed to become entrenched as a tool of digital elitism, digital intrusion, and techno–utopianism. Making sure that doesn’t happen requires we turn to the humanities to better understand and reform the systemic, exploitative features of this current digital capitalism toward techquity.
a global affairs media network
Moving from digital capitalism to techquity
Photo by Mia Anderson on Unsplash
April 25, 2025
A widening digital access gap, misuse of consumer data, and concentration of capabilities among the largest tech companies are shaping digital capitalism. For a better future economy, we need to take on an approach privileging techquity, writes Dr. Dimitrios Salampasis.
T
oday’s world experiences mounting effects of multiple technological advancements, which are reconfiguring every facet of our lives. This reconfiguration features three major paradoxes. First, a widening global digital access gap—with 2.6 billion people remaining unconnected—leaves a third of the global population without access to the data and digital economy. Second, consumer data is increasingly extracted without the user’s informed consent or any benefit. Third, technological transformative capabilities, and funding, are increasingly concentrated among the largest tech companies. These asymmetries are intrinsic to the current shaping and design of digital capitalism.
Addressing these pathogens is no mere technological undertaking. It is a steep path forward, complicated by philosophical, ethical, societal, and political factors. Active and equal participation in the data and digital economy requires rethinking the foundations: democratic governance, participatory design, global solidarity, and structural equity. More than simply inclusive access, this is about a systemic transformation on how technological innovation is conceptualized, financed, governed, and deployed. Ultimately, it is about the public deliberation of value co–creation and distributed governance narratives of the digital era.
Techquity calls for fairness, transparency, accountability and inclusion in the design, development, deployment and governance of technology. It ensures that all people (especially those historically marginalized or excluded) equally benefit from technological progress. Techquity is all about technology that doesn’t widen economic, racial, and social inequalities. Techquity brings agency to people to shape and benefit from technological innovations in ways that reflect their values, realities, needs, and cultural foundations.
It’s time for global policies to rethink how we develop and use technology. It is critical to reshape the systems behind innovation, not only the tools. Technology should be easy to use, adaptable, repairable, circular, and democratic. Most of all, it should be fair and inclusive. Technological innovation must be driven by equity—not only by powerful platforms. The decision regarding the pace and direction of technological progress should be a collective endeavor.
Data flows and algorithmic systems must include embedded in their core certain principles that are vital to democracy. These are algorithmic transparency and explainability, accountability, and the guaranteed right of users to data sovereignty—from ownership and portability of their data to choosing who it gets shared with. These participatory governance structures could minimize present and future harm from technological innovations. They could also mitigate emerging forms of intentionally exploitative data extraction strategies so as to prevent the uncontrolled use of data in training algorithms, while ensuring that the economic, societal and political benefits are recognized and shared to those who deserve them
Technology cannot be allowed to become entrenched as a tool of digital elitism, digital intrusion, and techno–utopianism. Making sure that doesn’t happen requires we turn to the humanities to better understand and reform the systemic, exploitative features of this current digital capitalism toward techquity.
