108 l THE CONVERGING TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION AND HUMAN CAPITAL
can have profound transformational impacts on all aspects of service delivery, building resilience and promoting inclusion. The suggested action areas are not meant to be addressed in a mechanistic or standalone manner. Many are interdependent, and some may need to be undertaken first for others to be more effective. In addition, many of the proposed follow-up actions include building skills and capabilities among policy makers, frontline workers, targeted beneficiaries of government services, and the population at large, as well as specialized institutions to deal with some of the issues raised. These action areas, as shown in figure 8.1, are intended to signal a departure from past approaches that tended to focus on piloting or scaling up specific technologies. This study argues that a broader approach will exploit the full potential of converging technologies while minimizing risks. Fully aligned with the study’s human capital framework, these action areas are intentionally horizontal in nature and offer new opportunities for stakeholder involvement and codesign by combining top-down engagement with bottom-up contributions. Some actions may be easier to achieve based on the current trajectories of digital development, and some may be aspirational but are aligned with global trends for inclusive, human-centered deployment of technology. An overriding concern running across all action areas is how to build trust at the community level through transparent and inclusive decision processes, the cogent use of data and
FIGURE 8.1 Nine Action Areas in Which Technology Can Build and Protect, Deploy and Utilize, and Empower Human Capital Build and protect
PROMOTE INCLUSION
Deploy and utilize Empower
9 Transformational 8
Customization and integration
Essential and cross-cutting
e nc
Inclusive and open AI
BUILD FUTURE RESILIENCE Tech nolo AND ADAPTABILITY gy and da ta go ve rn a
7
5 Local inclusive digital content
4
Open science
Integrated dynamic social 3 registry HD public1 private digital platforms First-mile equitable digital access
2
Community participation and trust
IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY
6 Data-driven decision mechanisms Specific technologies
Blockchain, autonomous driving such as drone, AR/VR, robotics, 3-D printing, etc.
Source: World Bank study team. Note: AI = artificial intelligence; AR/VR = augmented reality/virtual reality; HD = human development.
