High-tech companies are looking to help close the digital divide by determining what people in developing countries need from mobile devices. The role of the anthropologist is well suited for helping to determine how to act upon mobile-related news and information, by acting as a sort of intermediary between third world residents and high tech companies.

As anthropology is basically the study of humans in their own environment, this “cultural relativity” has to take center stage when studying issues of need in developing countries. Finding appropriate technologies are at the core of the anthropologists work, as they strive to find needs-driven uses rather than technology-driven uses. To complete the challenge, the necessary tools must then be provided for people to be able to act upon relevant information as it is revealed.