Rethinking information and communication technologies (ICT) for development: A philosophical re-examination

Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) has emerged as a critical field addressing global development challenges through technological interventions. However, the field has been increasingly critiqued for its epistemological assumptions, ontological foundations, and ethical implications rooted in Western-centric paradigms. This paper presents a comprehensive philosophical re-examination of ICT4D, drawing on critical theory, postcolonial perspectives, decolonial approaches, and capability frameworks. Through systematic analysis of recent scholarship (2020-2025), we explore how philosophical inquiry challenges dominant development paradigms, interrogates the digital divide through justice lenses, and reimagines ICT4D's relationship with Sustainable Development Goals. Our review synthesizes insights from 25 scholarly works, revealing tensions between universalist technological determinism and contextually grounded, pluralistic approaches to development. Key findings indicate a paradigm shift toward decolonial epistemologies, epistemic justice, human-centered capabilities, and ethical frameworks that prioritize local knowledge systems. We argue that rethinking ICT4D requires fundamental reconsideration of power relations, knowledge production, and the very concept of "development" itself. This philosophical re-examination offers pathways toward more equitable, sustainable, and contextually relevant ICT4D practices that honor epistemic plurality and challenge neocolonial technological interventions. The analysis demonstrates that advancing equitable and sustainable ICT4D requires the institutionalization of participatory and co-design approaches grounded in local and indigenous knowledge, the adoption of capability- and justice-based evaluative frameworks, and the integration of ethical and decolonial principles into ICT governance, policy, and funding structures.