Technologie humanitaire : pour un agenda de recherches critiques

The paper argues that while digital technologies offer opportunities for efficiency in crisis response, they are not neutral and can compromise fundamental humanitarian principles. It identifies key analytical prisms—humanitarian space, public-private partnerships, resource distribution (e.g., digital food/cash), human relations, and data-driven vulnerabilities—to guide future academic inquiry into the 'technological turn' of humanitarian action.

• The authors argue that technology is not a neutral tool but is 'constitutive of, and constituted by, the practice humanitaire', meaning it both shapes and is shaped by humanitarian action.
• The 'humanitarian space' is often viewed instrumentally as something that can be 'saved' by technology through remote management, but the authors suggest it is actually a social space of negotiation where technology cannot eliminate pre-existing political constraints.
• The rise of digital humanitarianism risks creating 'invisible' populations who are excluded from aid because they lack connectivity or do not generate the digital fragments required by big-data algorithms.
• Public-private partnerships in the humanitarian sector are often driven by corporate interests, including corporate social responsibility and the search for new markets, which can lead to a conflict between profit motives and humanitarian ethics.
• The shift toward 'digital food' or electronic transfers (e.g., the WFP project in Kenya with MasterCard) can reduce costs by 15% but introduces significant risks, including network instability, beneficiary frustration due to payment delays, and the potential for agent exploitation.
• Remote management enabled by technology can lead to 'bunkerization,' where international staff withdraw to secure compounds, effectively redistributing risk to local organizations and beneficiaries while simulating proximity through digital tools.
• Volunteer and Technical Communities (V&TCs) often lack the professional training in humanitarian ethics, neutrality, and the 'do no harm' principle, leading to operational gaps and potential redundancies in effort, as seen during the Haiti earthquake.
• The collection of big data in humanitarian contexts creates a 'mosaic effect,' where the triangulation of seemingly anonymous data can lead to the re-identification of vulnerable individuals, violating the 'do no harm' imperative.
• The authors conclude that technology can conflict with the principles of humanity, neutrality, and impartiality if it replaces genuine empathy with distance, introduces biased algorithms, or excludes the 'digitally disconnected' from impartial aid distribution.

APA

Sandvik, K. B., Jumbert, M. G., Karlsrud, J., & Kaufmann, M. (n.d.). Technologie humanitaire : pour un agenda de recherches critiques. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/deddcbe2-c5c1-4413-a1b4-744ab6d86926/Final Submitted - VF -Technologie humanitaire -RICR.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora, Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert, John Karlsrud, and Mareile Kaufmann. Technologie humanitaire : pour un agenda de recherches critiques. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/deddcbe2-c5c1-4413-a1b4-744ab6d86926/Final Submitted - VF -Technologie humanitaire -RICR.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sandvik |first1=Kristin Bergtora |last2=Jumbert |first2=Maria Gabrielsen |last3=Karlsrud |first3=John |last4=Kaufmann |first4=Mareile |title=Technologie humanitaire : pour un agenda de recherches critiques |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/deddcbe2-c5c1-4413-a1b4-744ab6d86926/Final Submitted - VF -Technologie humanitaire -RICR.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sandvikndtechnologie, author = {Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora and Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen and Karlsrud, John and Kaufmann, Mareile}, title = {{Technologie humanitaire : pour un agenda de recherches critiques}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/deddcbe2-c5c1-4413-a1b4-744ab6d86926/Final Submitted - VF -Technologie humanitaire -RICR.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }