When Estonian President Kirsti Kaljulajd was asked about the "data embassies" that Estonia opens abroad to store the most important information, she replied: "There is nothing special about technology". In a country known for its rapid advancement in the digital world, social progress goes hand in hand with technological advances. What is meant, however, is not only technical innovation, although no one denies the importance of modern know-how.
According to Kalyulaid, the model of successful public administration adopted by Estonia was based on processes occurring in cyberspace. The real breakthrough was achieved at a time when the developers of the system asked a key question: on which basic principles should an effective, functioning system.
In conversation with Jim Shutto, senior CNN correspondent on defense and state security, held on April 4 at the Atlantic Council, President Kaliulaid outlined her futuristic vision of the development path of Estonia: "The country should become for people something like a central hub station. I agree that Estonia will provide me with social services, training ... (and I do not need) an Estonian mailing address. Such an agreement I conclude with the state ".
For Estonia, technology is devoid of mystical cover, there is no mystery in them. It is a tool regulated by social norms and principles. Data embassies are of interest to the Estonian government, not only because they are high-tech innovations. From a purely pragmatic point of view, it is convenient to store the most important information in a friendly country, ready to treat foreign servers as a sovereign part of Estonia. Last year Estonia signed a bilateral agreement with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, according to which the first digital embassy should open and begin its work this year.
Estonia shows an example of successful digital management. This is a significant step forward - and at the same time the country remains committed to the liberal and democratic values ??that underlie any free and open society. Using the latest technologies to transform all aspects of life - from voting to citizenship - Estonia shows international observers how basic liberal values ??can be transferred to the twenty-first century. Here are a few highlights.
Initiative. Kaljulajd describes, as applied in Estonia "the preemptive state model". Unlike the traditional system where citizens have to turn to the state for services themselves, Estonia seeks to actively offer and provide public services to citizens.
A case in point is the traffic control system. Providing uninterrupted access to all data related to accidents - to registration documents for cars, insurance policies, etc.. - the Estonian government expects to speed up the processing of insurance claims so that the disputes are resolved within thirty minutes, and both sides receive exhaustive information.
In Kalyulaid's view, such innovations are not a luxury, but a necessity for survival. Expanding globalization, automation of production - all this leads the state to realize the need to modernize the tax service and all systems of service provision, otherwise it will become hopelessly outdated.
Privacy. "My personal data belongs to me. To me, not to the state, "declares Kaliulaid. Information - from demographic data to the financial situation of citizens - is extremely important for effective public administration. That is why the Estonian government as its primary task sees protection of this information from extraneous interference and manipulation.
At the same time, according to Kalyulaid, this is not the intention in Estonia to achieve this in the way of increasing secrecy and concealing information, but on the contrary, in every way promoting transparency of all processes so that citizens can fully control who and for what purpose their personal data are used. Whether it's a tax return or a medical record, any Estonian citizen knows who has access to his private information and can limit this access at his own discretion.
Undoubtedly, Estonia would not be able to achieve such successes in the field of computer security, if this did not contribute to certain national features. In the United States, for example, many Estonian initiatives are likely to face significant resistance. Nevertheless, Tallinn managed to create a working model, which is a curious alternative to all existing systems - if only because it does not equate private and anonymous.
Confidence. Why do passengers who board an airplane check passports, and on the Internet full anonymity is allowed? According to Kalyulaid, "the state has the same obligations in the digital sphere (as in the real world) - to provide people with means of identification". The creation of such a system requires the confidence of the population. But is the state's fundamental task not, in the final analysis, the protection of the interests of citizens through the generation of trust between them? So Kalyulaid thinks, - and regretfully notes that it is with this task that modern states cope worst of all.
Trust is a key factor not only in the use of electronic identification in all areas of governance. Answering the question about using blockade technology for remote electronic voting, Kalyulaid noted that electronic voting - a procedure that requires the highest level of trust - can be organized in this way no earlier than block technology does not enter all other areas of people's lives, from insurance policies before enrolling in an elementary school.
Technological innovation has tremendous transformative potential, but this potential can be fully revealed only if the right tools are used for this. Precisely because Estonia values ??democratic values, it managed to achieve the renewal of the country's governance system without sacrificing the well-being of its citizens. The Estonian model, undoubtedly, could be used by other countries developing their own version of digital statehood.
Read the original text on the Atlantic Council Join the TSN group. Blogs on facebook and follow the updates of the section!.