Technology for good: why digital haves should help digital have-nots

I never imagined I would become a tech journalist. Though in hindsight, I guess it makes a lot of sense because I've loved science and technology since childhood.

Back in high school, I enjoyed the computer class taught by the same instructor who was our chemistry teacher. This was in the 80s, and the language we learned was BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code).

I didn't have a PC, but I would hang out with my friends to play games, which, by the way, were in floppy disks. Some of them were really into programming. It was through them, for instance, that I first saw assembly language.

Still, I'd mostly forgotten about my fascination with computers by the time I entered college.

It was 1996 that proved to be a major turning point in my life – giving me a career in tech journalism that would last 12 years. Thanks to my late mother-in-law, I found out that the pioneer information technology newspaper in the Philippines, Metropolitan Computer Times, was looking for a staff writer.

This sounded like a dream job. I could keep doing what I'm good at, which is writing, while creating content about the computers that had fascinated me so much in the 80s.

The early days were pretty difficult for me, however. I was overwhelmed by all the jargon. I felt stupid because the other journalists seemed to understand everything.

I told myself, however, that a story is a story. From the start, I tried to focus on the benefits of technology. I also tried to explain things in layman's terms.

As I slowly got a better understanding of the technology, I also developed more confidence in writing about the different products and services.

It was also around this time that I read a book that would prove to be one of the most influential in my life. First published in 1995, "Being Digital" by Nicholas Negroponte of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, tackled issues that remain as relevant today.

In fact, it's fascinating to see how many of Negroponte's predictions have come true as the world has embraced being digital.

Not only it is it an informative and engaging account of the shift from analog to digital, but also "Being Digital" is full of optimism on the role that technology will play in creating a better world.

That's why this book has influenced me a lot. It has taught me the importance of technology for good. It has made me a techno-optimist. And it has made me keenly aware of the advantages the digital haves like us enjoy. Which is why I believe it is our duty to help the digital have-nots.

What is the point of all these powerful digital tools, if many people still don't enjoy the same access to technology?

Whether it's Web3, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and so on, our goal should be to help democratize access to technology and bridge the digital divide.

Only then can being digital be a reality for people.