Mark West is an education specialist at UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, where he researches and writes about education with a special focus on technology. He advises governments, international organizations and civil society groups about opportunities and risks for education in an age of accelerating digital change. Prior to joining UNESCO, Mr. West worked as a journalist, history teacher and teacher trainer. He is a graduate of Stanford University and a former Fulbright Fellow.

In addition to an An Ed-Tech Tragedy?, Mr. West is the author of numerous UNESCO publications about technology and education, including I'd Blush if I Could and Reading in the Mobile Era. I'd Blush if I Could prompted Apple and other large technology companies to make changes to the way AI voice assistants project gender. It clarified how education can help close digital gender divides and was praised by experts and media outlets around world. Reading in the Mobile Era brought international attention to the ways governments, schools and families can leverage inexpensive mobile technologies to help advance literacy.