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The One Laptop Per Child Program Was Supposed to Revolutionize the Developing World—Then It Imploded

Hope Reese
OneZero
Published in
7 min readNov 20, 2019

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Photo by Tayler Smith. Prop Styling by Caroline Dorn

InIn 2005, MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte introduced a program he believed would change the world. Called One Laptop per Child (OLPC), the initiative would deliver $100 XO laptops — small, boxy machines, constructed to be virtually indestructible — to children in the global south. Governments would buy and distribute the laptops to children between ages six and 12. These children would then use these computers as tools, teaching themselves — and, later, their parents — new languages, mathematics, and coding.

The vision was enthusiastically received by media and tech companies, who poured millions of dollars, software, advertising, and employee hours into the program. When a group of African leaders and journalists raised concerns about the viability of the program, no one listened.

They should have. OLPC did not turn out as planned: Laptops broke, and in areas with limited access to electricity, charging was a challenge. The cost of running the program and training teachers was much greater than expected. Children showed little interest in the machines, skill levels did…

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OneZero
OneZero

Published in OneZero

OneZero is a former publication from Medium about the impact of technology on people and the future. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Hope Reese
Hope Reese

Written by Hope Reese

Author: THE WOMEN ARE NOT FINE, June 2025 / Journalist for @NYTimes & more / hopereese.com

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