In this series of blogs, experts reflect on digital technology to build a better society.
Why this series
It’s high time for us to think about how to use digitisation to improve society, director Melanie Peters writes in the first blog in this series about Decent Digitisation. Read more
In the other blogs, experts will write about these issues:
How can we create an inclusive digital society?
How can we stay in charge of algorithms?
How can we help IT professionals to work ethically?
How can we protect children?
1: How can we create an inclusive digital society?
National Ombudsman of the Netherlands: Digitisation should not mean exclusion
Digitisation could very well exclude a segment of the Dutch population. We must prevent that at all costs. Government must ensure that everyone can participate, and it should make a special effort to include those who are unable to keep up.By Reinier van Zutphen, National Ombudsman of the Netherlands, and Jeanine Verhoef (project coordinator). Read more
ICTU: People with digital skills or services with people skills?
The extent to which people are digitally competent depends largely on how services are provided. Let’s improve the design and put user needs first. By André Regtop, Director of the ICTU and ambassador for the ‘User Needs First’ community,and Victor Zuydweg, ICTU consultant and co-initiator of the ‘User Needs First’ community.Read more
UWV: Make online services appealing, not compulsory
The UWV Employee Insurance Agency administers employee insurance schemes and assists people in their search for employment. The UWV believes that online services are the future but does not want them to be compulsory. After all, not everyone can transact their business online. Read more
2: How can we stay in charge of algorithms?
Amnesty International: Algorithms must respect human rights
Algorithms have infiltrated deep into our society without our always being aware of the associated risks. The Amsterdam police force, for example, uses software that predicts break-ins and muggings. That’s why Amnesty International believes that now is the time to start talking about how to deal with artificial intelligence. Read more
Netherlands Police: Technology necessary to adapt to a rapidly changing society
Experimenting with new technologies is important, especially in the complex domain of security, public safety and justice. It is critical to our ability to detect risks and understand outcomes. Such experiments make demands on the learning capacity and transparency of the Netherlands Police. Commissioner Erik Akerboom on the quest to strike the right balance between control and trust. Read more
3: How can we help IT professionals to work ethically?
Ethicist Frans Stafleu: Programmers, embrace the responsibility befitting to your position
We must be able to trust programmers to work ethically. They are, after all, the first to perceive the impact of technology. Philosopher Frans Stafleu and Linda Kool, senior researcher at the Rathenau Instituut, hope that programmers will do their profession proud. Read more
Privacy expert Jaap-Henk Hoepman: Use open standards to break up monopolies
It’s not something we think about much nowadays, but e-mail is one of the Wonders of the Modern World. It sets an example for how the rest of the internet ought to be. Read more
Sheila Jasanoff: We need technologies of humility
For every new technology, we must leave ourselves time to ask how it can best serve humankind. We will find the answers only by remaining critical and by supplementing the forces of government, the market, and ethics with a more humble approach to innovation.By Sheila Jasanoff, Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Harvard Kennedy School. Read more
Computer scientist TU Delft: Engineers, see that we can share the right data
Technology should reflect the norms and values of its users. Today’s technology isn’t flexible enough, however. We must learn to develop tailor-made, context-sensitive technology. Read more
KNVI: Let IT professionals identify violations of fundamental rights
IT professionals need to think consciously about digitisation and fundamental rights. That’s easier than it seems. They need to ask themselves the right questions, over and over. Read more
4: How can we protect children?
Kennisnet: Schools need help in the battle against digital illiteracy
How do you make cyberspace a child-friendly environment? By helping schools focus more attention on digital literacy, write strategic consultant Remco Pijpers and Kennisnet Director Toine Maes. Read more
eLaw professor: Protect kids online, but don’t deprive them of their rights and freedoms
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) decrees that parents must consent to their children’s data being collected, but we should be careful about putting children under constant observation. Let’s make sure that their rights and freedoms remain intact. By Simone van der Hof, Professor of Law and Information Society at eLaw,Centre for Law and Digital Technologies, Leiden University. Read more
