The Case for Repairable Public Infrastructure
Digital systems have become public infrastructure. If they cannot be fixed, inspected, and handed over, they become another form of hidden debt.
Read storyField Technology
Technology
Tools and infrastructure examined through the people who use, maintain, and govern them.
10 published storiesLatest in Technology
AI Is Entering the Small Factory Through Maintenance
The most consequential industrial AI may not design products. It may help a small manufacturer notice a failing machine before the line stops.
Read the reportMore from Technology
All subjects
Data Centres Make Water Visible Again
Digital services depend on physical cooling. The debate over data centres is forcing cities and utilities to ask better questions about shared resources.
Read story
Rural Broadband Is About More Than Laying Cable
A connection becomes useful only when it is affordable, reliable, supported, and attached to the skills and services that make it matter.
Read story
Open Source Has a Maintenance Problem
The software behind much of the public web is kept alive by small teams, volunteer attention, and funding models that rarely match the dependency.
Read story
Satellites Are Reading the Planet; Who Gets to Interpret It?
Earth observation can reveal drought, building, flooding, and forest loss. The harder work is turning images into decisions that people can trust.
Read story
Digital Public Infrastructure Is More Than an App
Digital identity, payments, and data exchange can make services easier to use. They can also entrench exclusion if the design starts with the system rather than the person.
Read story
Robots Need Workplace Design, Not Just Engineering
Automation works best when the surrounding job is redesigned with the people who do it. Otherwise, efficiency gains become new points of friction.
Read story
Museums Are Learning When Not to Use Immersive Technology
Digital interpretation can open a collection to new audiences. It can also distract from the object, the room, and the quiet attention museums are uniquely good at.
Read story
Cybersecurity Is Becoming Everyday Literacy
Scams, account recovery, and device updates are now ordinary civic skills. Public education needs to treat them that way.
Read story