Texting As Killer, As Savior

Any driver knows the dangers of texting. Yet this practice has become commonplace. Dr. Robin Landa recently challenged students to design an ad campaign about the dangers of texting and driving....

But texting can also save lives, even for the illiterate. Let me explain.

There are emerging open source technologies, based on network science and crowd sourcing that promise to transform how we respond to natural disasters and to disease outbreaks. Because these tools are open source, users can improve them so that it will evolve organically. The power of this new approach is the speed and efficiency of collecting huge amounts of information that can be analyzed anywhere in the world and quickly shared with those in need.

Even more impressive, you don't need to be able to read or type in order to share information. Recent technologies can accept voice mails for input into databases. Surprisingly, use of mobile devices in poor regions such as Haiti played a major role in disaster response after the 2010 earthquake. I learned that it is common practice for a cell phone to be shared with a number of people, increasing access to communication.

I address these societal benefits in a commentary published in this week's issue of Science...