4.0
October 18, 2024
The Gap Between Technology and Citizens’ Needs
Yesterday, October 16, I met with Dutch civil servants at the Royal Library in The Hague. It had only been 24 hours since I returned from a study trip to Vienna, and there I was, discussing transparency, data, and algorithms. Professor in 't Veld delivered a sharp critique of what he called "information terror by government." The whole event gave me a lot to reflect on, and in the coming days, I will dive deeper into those reflections.
But for now, my first impression is this: the Netherlands seems stuck in Industry 4.0 (IR4.0)—focused on technology and efficiency, with the citizen left out of the center of their solutions. There's aware-ness that citizens are in trouble, but the government's approach is through technology. For instance, we discussed transparent algo-rithms to give citizens more clarity. However, I believe the average person is not interested in algorithms—just like a consumer does not care what happens under the hood of their car or smartphone. All they want is for it to work. Ironically, the speaker proves this point when he shares that it is challenging to find citizens willing to sit on a committee and provide input on transparent algorithms.
The same goes for government policies and programs. Citizens don’t need to understand how they work; they need to experience how they work. Focusing on technology and transparency without consid-ering people's practical needs is missing the point. We need a human-centered approach that puts the citizen, not the algorithm, at the core.
Miguel Goede
Bình luận