# The aid sector's techno-colonialism problem | Rethinking Humanitarianism Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-new-humanitarian-1146231/the-aid-sector-s-techno-colonialism-problem-rethinking-humanitarianism Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-new-humanitarian-1146231/the-aid-sector-s-techno-colonialism-problem-rethinking-humanitarianism.md Podcast: [The New Humanitarian](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-new-humanitarian-1146231) Published: 2026-02-26T00:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/podcast/rethinking-humanitarianism Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/humanitarianpodcast/RH_Tech_01232026_v3_MIX.mp3?dest-id=762415 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-new-humanitarian-1146231/episodes/the-aid-sector-s-techno-colonialism-problem-rethinking-humanitarianism Duration seconds: 2760 ## Resource AI and new tech in crises: When is technology a force for good, and when are we piling on the problems in humanitarian response? In this episode, experts unpack why technology is never neutral, the fallback on "techno-utopian" solutions, and the risk of "techno-colonialism" and why it matters. Guests: Mirca Madianou, professor in the School of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, and author of "Technocolonialism: When Technology for Good is Harmful". Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health. Rana F. Sweis, journalist and founder and managing director of WishBox Media. Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-new-humanitarian-1146231/episodes/the-aid-sector-s-techno-colonialism-problem-rethinking-humanitarianism/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-new-humanitarian-1146231/the-aid-sector-s-techno-colonialism-problem-rethinking-humanitarianism.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.