Bridging the Digital Divide from a Buddhist Perspective with Implications for Public Policy

Kitiyadisai, K.

This paper presents a Buddhist perspective to the treatment of the problem of digital divide in Thailand. The first part includes the concepts and debates on the impacts of bridging the digital divide, the Buddhist stance towards modern technology and the fundamental Buddhist concepts which will be the basis for further discussion. The Buddhist concepts referred to include the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path or the Middle Path, the Brahma-Vihara and the Four Requisites of Life. The concept of affordance and the situated context of relevance according to different realities or lifeworlds and the social impacts of information systems failure are instrumental in bringing practical arguments to support the relevant application of some Buddhist concepts to the debate on 'digital divide'. The implication for public policy in bridging the digital divide for sustainable development in Thailand is to apply some of the Buddhist concepts in conjunction with the relevant social context or lifeworld, instead of being dictated by the rationality of the digital race.

Cite as: Kitiyadisai, K. (2004). Bridging the Digital Divide from a Buddhist Perspective with Implications for Public Policy. In Proc. Selected Papers from the Computers and Philosophy Conference (CAP2003), Canberra, Australia. CRPIT, 37. Weckert, J. and Al-Saggaf, Y., Eds. ACS. 91-95.

(from crpit.com) (local if available)