[HN Gopher] Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Ru...
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       Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Rural Peru
        
       Author : danso
       Score  : 36 points
       Date   : 2025-12-07 19:56 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nber.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nber.org)
        
       | anonymousiam wrote:
       | Sad if true. I was a donor, and the program had good intentions.
        
         | Arrowmaster wrote:
         | At least now instead of just theory we have one study of the
         | results and a data point to use in the next attempt at a
         | similar project. The idea is probably still solid and could be
         | attempted again but with a more refined implementation.
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | OLPC? like, the Negroponte thing from way back? That was dead in
       | water within 5 years or so? (As sad as that was) Just surprised
       | to see a study/report on it this many years later.
        
         | actionfromafar wrote:
         | They got way ambitious with the interface (GUI). I didn't
         | understand how to do anything with it.
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | A similar NPR report from 2012:
       | 
       |  _One Child, One Laptop ... And Mixed Results In Peru_
       | 
       | https://www.npr.org/2012/10/13/162719126/one-child-one-lapto...
        
       | diziet wrote:
       | An unfortunate yet unsurprising report to those familiar with the
       | literature on cognitive ability. I too donated to similar
       | programs. I hope better computer skills make some sort of earning
       | impact, though the prevalence of smart phones probably makes a
       | bigger difference.
        
       | rowanG077 wrote:
       | I'm not sure why people here call it a failure. The children who
       | got a laptop have reached superior skill in using computers,
       | while it seems like not sacrificing any other capability. That
       | seems like a great result, skilled computer use is a highly
       | valuable skill.
        
         | crooked-v wrote:
         | A lot of people seem to have thought the progression would be
         | "1. Give computers; 2. ???; 3. Better at everything".
        
         | alephnerd wrote:
         | The tens of millions per year spent on OLPC could have been
         | better applied to programs that have demonstrated tangible
         | positive impact on human capital development in developing
         | countries, such as free meal programs [0], early childhood
         | developmental screening [1], and other outcome-based policies.
         | 
         | [0] - https://econ.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Bonds.pdf
         | 
         | [1] - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5859813/
        
       | true2octave wrote:
       | AI will have similar effect in general population
       | 
       | No significant effect except in the minority who have the drive
       | and capabilities to leverage new technology to achieve their
       | goals
       | 
       | There is always a bias on the effects of new technology because
       | the early adopters are already highly capable people
        
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