How good is ‘Tech for Good’? A segment in the PR arsenals of most tech giants, how valid does tech for good seem today? In a world increasingly shaped by digital innovation, the phrase ‘Tech for Good’ has become a rallying cry for developers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and civil society groups seeking to harness the power of technology to address humanity’s most pressing challenges. This article analyses the effectiveness of tech for good initiatives and brings to light an unexplored but ultimate use of technology.
Tech For Good Highlights
- A remarkable insight from NASSCOM’s (National Association of Software and Service Companies) 2021 report reveals at that time about 90% of Indian companies were developing or planning to develop ‘Technology for Good’.
- Though well-intended, the biggest hurdles faced by organisations is the lack of funding. Unavailability of the internet itself is also a big obstacle.
- The average spending of an Indian company in 2021 on ‘Tech for Good’ was USD 36,515 per year. (Source)
- Education has been a key sector of work in ‘Tech for Good’.
- In a survey by McKinsey Global Institute, majority respondents believe that the sector which ‘Tech for Good’ will impact the most in the coming years will be healthcare.
Image Source: McKinsey Global Institute
What Is Tech for Good?
Tech for Good describes the purposeful application of technology to create meaningful benefits for society, the environment or the economy. In simple words, ‘for the greater good of the society’. It encompasses a wide spectrum of tools, systems and innovations aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals and communities, particularly the marginalised.
Tech for good spans various initiatives, a few listed below:
- Apps for mental health support
- Assistive technologies for people with disabilities
- Platforms promoting social justice and civic engagement
- Green technologies aimed at reducing carbon footprints
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) for predicting disaster and its response
- Educational tools reaching underserved populations
The movement is driven by startups, non-profits, social enterprises and increasingly, even big tech companies like Infosys, Google and Microsoft.
However, more than just its application, Tech for Good also stands for taking a step back and assessing fads, hypes, trends, and then reviewing how to minimise its negative impact.
Why Is Tech for Good Needed?
Before analysing the need of technology for good, we’ll briefly touch upon its beginnings in the 1990s.
- The 90s saw a sudden boom in technology, especially as far as communities are concerned.
- For example, many cybercafes that opened up with the aim of making the internet accessible to those who could not afford them.
- This technological boom further expanded in the 2000s with the opening of many telecentres worldwide.
- The internet also became more widely available, albeit not very cheap.
- Furthermore, mobile phones and their networks grew.
Though there have been several tech for good initiatives even earlier than the period stated above, the actual momentum for the tech for good movement was gained through these key developments in the 90s and 2000s.
Why do we need Tech for Good? Ironically, technology was created to serve humanity such as to simplify life, solve real problems and ‘empower’ people. But over time, the focus shifted. Instead of putting people first, we began prioritising innovation for its own sake – technology for technology’s sake.
What value does technology hold if it no longer serves the very people it was designed for?
This disconnect sparked a realisation of how modern technology was drifting from its true purpose. This awakening led to the rise of Technology for Good, supposedly a renewed commitment to ensure innovation serves ‘everyone’, especially the ethically and equitably underserved.
Therefore, it is the key realisation that technology was only selectively serving its purpose that led to the tech for good movement. The bigger question is – has technology succeeded in serving its purpose even today?
Key Areas Where Tech for Good Is Making a Difference
In this article, we will discuss the most widely impacted key areas by technology.
Healthcare
Technology has evolved to become an integral part of healthcare in terms of its access and delivery. A few cases here:
- Telemedicine or Online Consultations: It enables remote consultations for people in rural or economically-challenged areas.
- AI diagnostics: It may assist in early detection of diseases like cancer or diabetic retinopathy.
- Wearables: It can help track vital health stats and may encourage preventive care.
- Mobile apps: It claims to support mental health through therapy bots and mindfulness training. Mobile apps can also be used to book hospital appointments.
- Several mobile apps also aid in tracking lifestyle to ensure healthier living. They assist in tasks as basic as tracking water intake, to calories, calorie deficit, and even tracking progress in losing weight.
- PWC once published its version of how tech could impact healthcare to change the way it functions.
Image Source: PWC
Education
EdTech is trying to bridge educational divides. Some key developments to note:
- Since the COVID-19 pandemic, EdTech has seen a dynamic growth and the education industry used more and more online tools and applications to make education accessible virtually.
- Online learning platforms: like Khan Academy, Coursera and many more offer free or low-cost education globally.
- AI tutors: A rise in AI tutors or AI-backed learning apps has been seen more so in the recent years. This helps personalise learning for students based on their needs and performance.
- Most noteworthy examples of AI-powered learning apps are those that teach foreign languages, for example Duolingo, Busuu, etc.
- Learning tools for students with disabilities, such as speech-to-text or audiobooks, make learning more inclusive.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology played an important role in maintaining educational continuity.
Environmental Sustainability
Climate tech is currently booming, especially with international organisations involved in sustainability initiatives. Key ways in which technology supports environmental sustainability include:
- Development of smart sensors that monitor air and water conditions in real time.
- Advancements in renewable energy, such as solar, wind and energy storage systems in order to decrease reliance on fossil fuels.
- Use of IoT and AI to enhance energy efficiency in modern buildings and urban infrastructure.
- Blockchain technology supports transparent carbon credit trading.
- A notable outcome of tech for good initiatives in the energy sector is the increased discussion about circular economies.
- Startups like Climeworks and CarbonCure are using tech to remove or reduce atmospheric carbon.
Disaster Relief and Crisis Response
Tech can enable a faster response to crises, for example:
- Drones are used nowadays to map disaster-hit areas, deliver supplies or locate survivors. This has been especially evident in flood-hit areas where direct human intervention is difficult.
- Artificial intelligence tools are now utilised to forecast and respond to natural disasters more effectively. For example, Google’s flood forecaster, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for assessing the extent of damage by natural disasters, and AI analysis of satellite imagery again for gaining insights on the extent of damage.
- Another instance of tech for good in crisis was during the COVID-19 pandemic. The response efforts, tracking infections geographically and vaccine delivery logistics were majorly tech-driven.
Inclusion and Accessibility
Inclusion-focused technologies are aimed to empower marginalised communities. For example:
- Assistive tech that helps the visually or hearing-impaired. Assistive tech includes cochlear impacts, hearing devices, screen magnifiers for people with lesser vision, etc.
- Assistive tech is a vast field under tech for good. It encompasses not only digital tech but also technology like specialised scooters, wheelchairs, prosthetics, to name a few, for those struggling with various disabilities.
- Translation tools do enable participation in global conversations.
- Digital identity platforms like India’s Aadhaar provide access to banking, healthcare and voting for citizens.
These are a few examples of industries where the tech for good has taken a significant turn.
The Benefits of Tech for Good
Among the noteworthy benefits of tech for good are:
- Scalability: Digital solutions are possible to scale rapidly across geographies. A well-designed app or AI tool can serve several people worldwide with minimal marginal cost.
- Efficiency and Speed: Automation, real-time data and predictive analytics can drastically reduce the time needed to respond to social challenges.
- Increased Transparency: Blockchain and decentralised platforms enable traceability, helping combat corruption and fraud in sectors like aid distribution and governance. Despite this, corruption is not ending in today’s money-driven world. Therefore, although tech companies account transparency as a one of the major benefits of tech for good, on ground it does not completely fulfill its function.
- More accessible financial systems: Whether it’s mobile banking, net banking or even a simple passbook update machine, financial processes have become faster and easier to access for a larger customer base.
- Cross-Sector Collaboration: Tech for Good encourages collaboration between governments, NGOs and the private sector.
The Challenges and Controversies of Tech for Good
While the possibilities are promising, Tech for Good is not without flaws, proving that technology can never exist without its shortcomings. The success of tech for good also often hinges on how it is designed, implemented and governed.
A few aspects to consider:
Digital Divide
Technology can deepen inequality if access is not universal. Several still lack reliable internet, electricity or digital literacy. This leaves them completely out of the conversation of tech for good.
For example, AI-powered job applications may unintentionally exclude candidates from lower-income backgrounds due to biased training data. Similarly, AI-powered screening of resumes most often has undisclosed parameters, keeping candidates in oblivion as to why they were rejected.
Surveillance and Privacy Concerns
Tech initiatives intended for good such as digital contact tracing or smart policing can slide into surveillance and misuse. Authoritarian regimes may co-opt tech meant for public welfare.
For example, China’s social credit system uses data from various tech platforms to reward or punish citizens which is deeply concerning.
Surveillance technologies, such as satellite imaging, can also be exploited for harmful purposes. A recent and alarming instance is the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, India, where such tools have been misused. There are several reports indicating that Maxar Technologies received multiple orders for high-res satellite pictures of Pahalgam just months before the attack. This demand was triggered after a Pakistani tech firm BSI or Business Systems International Pvt. Ltd. acquired a partnership stake in Maxar Technologies.
Image Credit: Maxar
Greenwashing and Techwashing
Some companies adopt a ‘Tech for Good’ label just for the sake of PR while continuing harmful practices. This performative approach masks the real-world impact of tech for good, and is also known as techwashing.
Examples of greenwashing:
- A very common case of misleading product labels that do not deliver what they claim. In 2012, Godrej was charged with advertising false claims about its Good Knight mosquito repellent being ‘chemical-free’ and ‘100% natural’. They were charged a penalty of INR 5,00,000 by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).(Source)
- Similarly, Voltas, a Tata enterprise, was also fined by the ASCI in 2013 for wrongly advertising the rating of the energy rating of its ACs as ‘5-star energy rating’, when in reality the ratings were much lower. (Source)
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) fined Adani Power INR 100 crore in 2013 for greenwashing the environmental compliance of its Mundra Power Plant. Some sources also quote the fine as INR 200 crores. Instead of being compliant to environmental regulations, it actually caused environmental damage. (Source)
- Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has repeatedly come under scrutiny for allegedly greenwashing its personal care brands like Dove, as well as home care products such as Surf Excel. Aside from this, HUL’s use of palm oil has also come under severe scrutiny due to its links to deforestation and abuse of Human Rights in the south eastern regions of Asia. (Source)
Ethical AI and Bias
AI systems mirror the data and underlying values they are built upon, meaning their fairness depends entirely on those foundations. Many systems can reproduce racism, sexism or economic biases as it thoroughly depends on the data fed to that particular AI module.
For example, Facial recognition software has been shown to misidentify people of colour at higher rates, leading to wrongful arrests and profiling. (Source)
Over-Reliance on Technology
A very classic case of over-reliance on technology in our daily lives is the amount of Google searches we do for every small thing in life, including trying to self diagnose diseases.
Corporate Social Responsibility or Strategic Branding?
Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta have all launched ‘Tech for Good’ divisions or initiatives. While some bring genuine innovation and support, it is imperative to raise some important questions:
- Are these companies truly offsetting harm caused by their main business models? Data threats and misuse remains a constant and the biggest tech threat that ceases to die.
- Ransomware attacks and the Darkweb remain the darkest territories of the tech world.
- Is their social impact proportional to their profit margins and influence? More often than not, the profits are driven by greenwashing and techwashing products to influence consumers. Then what ‘good’ does this tech do in reality?
- How much is ‘tech for good’ a branding strategy vs a moral commitment? The few controversial local cases discussed in this article are more than enough to expose the two-faced nature of tech for good.
Consumers and regulators are increasingly demanding transparency and accountability. This makes us circle back to a question addressed earlier in this article – Why Is Tech for Good needed? Does it truly ‘empower’ us?
Why ‘Tech for Good’ Alone Can Never Be Enough
In this race of technological innovations, despite the noble intentions, the tech for good movement can never meet 100% success. The reason lies not in whether enough efforts are made in the tech for good initiatives or not, but more so in the inherent nature of the planet we live in.
This might appear to drift from the topic, but in reality, it brings us closer to an unspoken spiritual truth. Earth, as part of the perishable creation, is inherently dualistic. Every phenomenon here, no matter how noble or progressive, carries both good and bad within it. It is this duality that ensures that no solution here, including technology, can offer absolute or permanent good.
What the world needs is not more data or devices – it needs divine direction. And the only force capable of giving the right direction to all the negativity and imbalance of this world is the unshakable refuge of a Tatvdarshi Sant (a Complete, Enlightened Saint) Who knows the true path to liberation.
Now to answer the deeper question: How are technology and spirituality connected? More than the world realises. Only when technology fulfills its real intended use, will it become good enough to be called Tech for Good.
The Way Forward: Making Tech for Good Truly Good
Real transformation in society can come solely from the guidance of a Tatvdarshi Sant, not from technology labelled as ‘good’. Merely calling technology ‘good’ doesn’t make it good enough to deliver real change. Only true spiritual wisdom can do that.
Jagatguru Tatvdarshi Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj quotes the sacred speech of Supreme God Kabir, our Ultimate Creator:
In today’s world, where technology and modern education have stripped away morality, compassion, and humanity, people are increasingly functioning like emotionless machines. While governments and international welfare bodies often highlight their achievements, it is Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj, the sole Complete Tatvdarshi Sant of this era, Who has silently yet profoundly redefined what true social reform looks like.
Under His divine guidance, Satlok Ashrams have emerged as living examples of an ideal society that is free from all forms of discrimination. Here, equality isn’t preached, it is practised. His disciples embrace dowry-free marriages with joy and pride, as part of a historic movement led by Him to build a completely dowry-free community, setting a precedent for the real New India. One rooted in values, not just slogans.
Technology may offer temporary fixes like better healthcare, faster communication, and wider access to education, but it cannot bring lasting peace. That peace, which every soul longs for, comes only through the true devotion of Supreme God Kabir, as prescribed in our holy scriptures. Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj is the only Saint on Earth today imparting that authentic, scripture-approved worship, which not only transforms lives but liberates the soul from the endless cycle of birth and death – the greatest suffering of all humanity.
A mobile health app can monitor blood pressure, but the Naam Diksha (spiritual initiation) received from Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj has cured incurable diseases not through science, but His spiritual power as witnessed and testified by lakhs of devotees.
His efforts are not limited to spiritual upliftment. Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj has spearheaded a genuine social revolution by launching initiatives like the Annapurna Muhim, organising blood donation campaigns, coordinating disaster relief and providing free education to those in need. These acts align with the ideals of ‘Tech for Good’. They are driven not by publicity or profit, but by unmatched devotion and selfless service to humanity.
Through the Annapurna Muhim, Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj is fulfilling needs that even governments have struggled to meet – offering free meals, clothing and building homes for the most neglected and vulnerable members of society. He encourages devotees to serve the world while remaining attached to God, thus turning every good deed into a spiritually beneficial karma. This is many folds superior to mere philanthropy.
Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj teaches that human effort alone is insufficient without God’s grace. Technology may improve material conditions, but it has no power to erase past karmas or free the soul from the cycle of birth and death. Its ultimate purpose is not entertainment or profit-making. Technology should be used as a medium to spread the unparalleled spiritual knowledge and worship of Supreme God Kabir. Therefore, even as we use tech wisely, we must not idolise it or become dependent on it as a saviour.
The most effective and ethical use of technology is when it complements spiritual awakening, not replaces it. If society embraces spiritual discipline, simplicity, truth and devotion as taught by Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj, and uses technology in alignment with these values, we can truly attain the real purpose of our precious human lives – complete salvation.
The discourses of Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj offers deeper insights on various spiritual concepts. One can watch His spiritual discourses at ‘Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj’ youtube channel, or can also visit www.jagatgururampalji.org for more information.
Tech For Good FAQs
Q1: What Does the term Tech for good stand for?
Answer: Tech for Good refers to leveraging technology to create positive and meaningful impact for the betterment of society
Q2: How can tech be used for good?
Answer: The industry has devised several ways in which tech can be used for the betterment of society in certain segments like education, environment, etc.
