Abstract
The optimism behind Internet technologies being able to make the world a better place has visibly suffered a setback in recent times. I will begin with a view from the trenches, based on my own experience of operating a technology-based social enterprise, about why it is complex to ensure that responsible outcomes arise from technology. I believe however that navigating these complexities is indeed possible, given the right inclination on part of the designers and managers of these technologies. This leads to the question of why this responsibility is often ignored. The answer I feel partly lies in our education curriculum that does not include a critical reflection on the interaction between technology and society, and partly in the wider political economy underpinning enterprises and the state that creates and regulates technologies. Continuing this thread, I will briefly also talk about work by our group in using mass media analysis to understand the political economy behind information technology policies in India.