When technology does not solve the problem. A Review of “The Charisma Machine” by Morgan G. Ames

Although the world has progressed in absolute and relative numbers of schoolchildren, the differences between the richest and the poorest and between rural and urban populations have not decreased. (Schmelkes, 2020). Education inequity is a huge problem that continues to exist worldwide, especially in developing countries, despite the many promising interventions adopted with the hope of closing the divide.. Some authors believe this may result from inadequate policies towards achieving just societies (Schmelkes, 2020). The dynamics that play out between a technological intervention to create equity and the culural components of a community is narrated in the book, “The Charisma Machine”, through the lens of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative. This book review summarises the book's main arguments and  suggests some design principles, which could have been adopted by the contributors of the project for a better outcome.