Psy-technologies as Global Assemblage: Histories and Social Lives of Quantification and Digitisation in Three Former Countries of the British Empire

Psy-technologies (from algorithmic diagnostic tools to smartphone apps) have become a central element of development programmes, increasing the reach of behaviour change agendas globally. For some, psy-technologies signify a ‘new field of investigation’, raising the need for novel methodological tools. Yet, while many technologies are new, they are embedded in historical conditions, often linked to colonial governance. Current research points to the role of technology in making visible behavioural and psychological ‘problems’ and in constructing them as amenable to technological intervention. This project investigates the neglected global coloniality of psy-technologies, and argues that this historical dimension has effects not only on the reception of these technologies but fundamentally structures how behaviour and psychologies are understood and governed.