The Paradox of "Helpful" Technology and the Attention Crisis

When coalition forces were working to liberate the Afghanistan countryside from the Taliban, one of their key objectives was to work alongside locals to address humanitarian needs and improve the quality of life for ordinary Afghan people. Putting this into practice in the eastern part of the country, military leaders consulted with a village council to identify areas of need.

The men on the council shared their community’s need for a local well. As things stood, the village women had to travel three or four miles daily to draw water from a river and bring it back to town.

Eager to help, coalition forces installed a well amid great rejoicing. Finally, the women of the village would no longer be burdened with the daily trek to and from the river.

The rejoicing was short-lived. Inexplicably, the well kept breaking down. After being repaired each time, it would malfunction shortly afterward. Eventually it became clear that someone was deliberately destroying the pump. A search was conducted to discover the culprit, but to no avail. It seemed as if the pump was being sabotaged by an invisible enemy.

Finally, after extensive surveillance, the culprit was discovered. To everyone’s amazement, it was the women of the village who were sabotaging their own well.