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Blockchain Camp (ID: blockchain_camp)

Blockchain Camp (ID: blockchain_camp)

, Author: Eva Short, translator: Huohuojiang, reprinted with authorization by Odaily.

Now more than ever, these issues are more salient; the COVID-19 pandemic has not only accelerated the development of digital technology, but has suddenly brought it to the fore. According to the World Economic Forum, 86% of UN member states use the internet to update themselves on the latest developments in COVID-19.

Governments around the world are shifting municipal services online to facilitate citizens to obtain essential public services while reducing unnecessary social activities. Under such urgent circumstances, how can States ensure that their services are always provided and conducted ethically?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic made "online access to government services" a "necessity of life", the Netherlands was leading the way in this regard. As of 2018, the country's citizens had an Internet access rate of 98%, ranking first in the world and nearly 10% higher than the EU average.

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Netherlands: Overview

A 2018 report by McKinsey listed the Netherlands as one of nine "digital frontrunners" countries - higher productivity (in terms of average GDP per hour worked in euros) than other CEE countries as the basis for measurement), and the unemployment rate is lower.

According to the 2019 EU e-government benchmark, the availability of digital government services in the Netherlands is 100%, the mobile friendliness of digital government is 90%, and the adoption rate of online digital government services is 80%, which is much higher than the EU average of 57%. level.

Within the Dutch government, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) is responsible for developing and overseeing these digital services.

In total, Dutch citizens with a DigID can access 650 different service providers. DigID is not mandatory for citizens, but it is required to access online government services. Use of the service is high: out of a population of 17.1 million in the Netherlands, around 14 million people (more than 80% of the population) have DigID.

A 2019 study by the McKinsey Global Institute showed that increasing digital access to government services could boost national economic growth by between 3% and 13%. However, this proportion is based on the high adoption rate of online government services, and research shows that the adoption rate depends on the level of public trust.

Clearly, the Netherlands does not need to worry about adoption rates, but maintaining public trust is not so easy and requires a concerted effort by all to promote ethical practices in order to maintain and increase public trust.

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Cultivate trust in a world of suspicion

Sebastiaan van Lunteren, director of the Digital Government Innovation Budget Project, told TNW that an emphasis on "human-centredness" is key to maintaining trust.

"Every step of the way in structuring the project, we start with citizens and citizens of the country, putting them at the center of the project," explains van Renteren.

At the same time, he also pointed out that trust is extremely important, and a decline in public trust in public institutions could have disastrous effects. The spread of misleading information about COVID-19, and the rise of misinformation and misinformation, is one of the unwanted side effects of eroding public trust.

Sometimes, we can promote public trust through more direct and simple methods: for example, the BZK has launched an open data initiative, advocating that most of the code used for digital services, including the COVID-19 contact tracing application in the Netherlands The programs are all open source and can be downloaded from GitHub. In the early days of the project, choosing an open source and open way of working can help us face criticism from privacy experts and technologists, which is very important: "If you want to build trust, you must be transparent."

At the same time, there are other ways to promote public trust. For example, the BZK's digital inclusion strategy, which aims to ensure that digital communication services are accessible to all. In communication with citizens, all unnecessary complicated terms are removed. "We need to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to join the new digital society," said Renteren.

BZK works with libraries across the country to provide opportunities for people with low literacy skills to learn digital skills related to literacy. The collaboration aims to ensure that people with disabilities have the necessary technology to use digital government applications and services.

At the upcoming TNW2020 conference, representatives of BZK will give a 30-minute speech to discuss ethical issues related to digital government affairs in more detail.

This seamless experience also improves citizen trust, as citizens' desire for digital government is mirrored in their desire for commercial e-commerce models. They want the convenience and ease of use of "big tech" companies like Google and Facebook, along with a solid and transparent ethics.

Van Renteren said: "Their request is very reasonable, because we live in a society with such advanced digital technology, so this appeal is completely achievable."

However, Van Renteren concludes that the digital transformation of government will never be able to keep pace with the rapid development of the technology industry. No matter what kind of digital initiative is launched, it must first pass a series of legal and financial scrutiny to ensure its compliance.

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Reducing bias in artificial intelligence

Van Renteren has also tweaked policies to ensure that human rights are at the heart of the development of new technologies.

Globally, the use of artificial intelligence in government, especially facial recognition in the judicial system, has generated much controversy and criticism. Many artificial intelligence systems are far from being objective and scientific, and do have certain biases; others inadvertently lead to discrimination due to data display problems. As a result, the AI ​​field is often accused of discrimination against minorities.

Van Renteren asked: "If these algorithms violate the law, if they are discriminatory, or if they violate basic human rights, how can we stop them?" Regulators' control over algorithms is very important. Therefore, BZK developed the Many tools to safeguard regulation, including impact assessments, guidelines, ethical data tools, and more. BZK has partnered with the University of Amsterdam and the local government to create the Civic AI Lab, a research lab dedicated to the research and promotion of AI applications that promote the economic and social rights of citizens.