May Digital Matters

May’s Digital Matters—our monthly round-up of news, research, events, and notable uses of tech—explores opportunities (and challenges) to advancing safe and sustainable digital transformation efforts. This month we look at how digital solutions can improve the delivery of public services and be harnessed as a tool for better people-centered outcomes. We also dive into the AI news – the decisions made now on the AI guardrails front will impact the resiliency and inclusivity of our digital future in countless ways.

At DIGI, our mission is to help catalyze the ideas and solutions powering the field of digital public infrastructure through cross-sector collaboration. Digital systems used by the public should be safe and effective. Interoperable, open, and replicable civic solutions are the basis for more inclusive, transparent, and secure outcomes and do not need to come at the cost of privacy or human rights.

How Can We Better Center Values in Public Services Delivery and Data Governance?

Digital solutions touch most aspects of modern life from education to accessing public services and inclusive financial opportunities. To make public facing digital solutions work better for all users, best-practices should be implemented at every stage—solution design, development, procurement, and governance.

Guiding Principles for Technologists Can Bolster An Inclusive Digital Future by Allison Price and Afua Bruce, Digital Impact and Governance Initiative (DIGI) and Public Interest Technology (PIT), New America (May 15, 2023)

There is no comprehensive global approach for responsible technology development that centers on inclusivity, accessibility, and ethical innovation. Through a series of consultative convenings, the DIGI and Public Interest Technology (PIT) programs at New America explored the potential of creating guiding principles for technologists to follow, alongside a framework for implementation through cross-sector collaboration.

Human-Centered Data Governance and Better Public Digital Service Delivery in Developing Countries by Prasanna Lal Das, Digital Impact Alliance (April 24, 2023)

The Digital Impact Alliance released three mini-briefs that delve into issues of digital development and governance to better tailor digital solutions to local community needs. Information should be provided in the local languages; digital solutions should be inclusive, especially for vulnerable or marginalized communities; and data sharing practices should be human-centered and transparent. This requires taking into account local social and ethical norms and recognizing the different social, technical, economic, or political factors that impact power asymmetries in a community.

International data governance - Pathways to progress by the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (May 4, 2023)

Data governance frameworks around the world represent a patchwork approach that often leaves user data vulnerable. The United Nations’ High Level Committee on Programmes Working Group on International Data Governance released a report outlining a vision for global data governance to provide a foundational framework for member nations to build their own data governance initiatives. The vision focuses on protecting user privacy and human rights, while leveraging data as a global public good.

How Digital Public Infrastructure can serve as a building block for Data Free Flow with Trust by Keyzom Ngodup Massally and Astha Kapoor, World Economic Forum (April 28, 2023)

The Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) is a set of rules, regulations, and policies that facilitate trustworthy cross-border data exchange. DPI solutions may offer a way to operationalize DFFT principles for digital transformation, ensuring data exchanges are interoperable, secure, private, and trustworthy.

How can harnessing digital solutions improve people-centric outcomes?

When developed and implemented with care, digital solutions can advance people-centric digital transformation that strengthens communities around the world. Best practices such as open-source technology, human-centered design, and user safeguards can help ensure that digital solutions, especially those powering public services, are transparent, accessible, and secure.

Co-Creating Our Digital Future: How Open-Source Technology Can Expand Inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure by Chrissy Martin Meier and Heath Arensen, Digital Impact Alliance (April 25, 2023)

Digital public infrastructure (DPI) can help further community digital transformation efforts, drive individual empowerment, foster private-sector innovation, and advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Digital public goods (DPGs) can be used to build whole-of-society DPI, focusing first on the foundational elements—digital payments, data exchange, digital identity, and digital consent. Using open-source technology for DPGs and DPI can improve interoperability, improve cost-savings, reduce vendor lock-in, and improve transparency in digital solution design, implementation, and governance.

It’s Time for Government to Build a Free Digital Tax Filing Service by Gabriel Zucker, Code for America (May 4, 2023)

A free, easy-to-use digital tax filing service could reduce the cost of filing taxes and help low-income individuals and families access thousands of dollars in benefits. Paired with an $80 billion modernization budget and a new ability to create its own free digital tax filing service, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is in a unique position to rebuild the tax filing system to be more accessible and efficient for all taxpayers.

Striking Balance between Public Procurement and Innovation by Digital Impact and Governance Initiative and Public Interest Tech, New America (April 27, 2023)

Public administrators can use the public procurement process to better leverage technology to improve systems, enhance efficiency, and deliver better outcomes for residents. Prioritizing responsible, equitable design and regulation of technology through a cross-sector approach is a core tenet of public interest technology. As more public services depend on digital solutions, ensuring that digital solutions are developed and implemented in alignment with public values and needs is critical. This report outlines key areas of opportunity, maps barriers and challenges, and includes actionable recommendations to improve the public procurement process of digital solutions.

What Regulation and Guardrails Could Best Protect AI Users?

As momentum around integrating AI into everyday solutions continues and the hype-cycle heats up, countries around the world are asking how to regulate or develop guidelines for the implementation of AI to better protect users and increase transparency. Cross-sector stakeholders continue to raise concerns over the unforeseen and potentially unknown consequences of the technology. Several ideas have been floated for how to better safeguard users, ranging from a new federal agency to requiring AI generated content be flagged by default to an open letter calling for a six-month “pause” on AI development. Even the “Godfather of AI” left his position at Google, warning of the risks of AI and its potential use by bad actors. Now leaders of G7 are calling for AI technical standards to help keep the technology trustworthy.

White House signals support for AI legislation by Cat Zakrewski, The Washington Post (May 4, 2023)

After a meeting with leaders from Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI, the White House signaled support for new AI regulation. Agencies across the federal government are already moving to address user security concerns around AI. The Office of Management and Budget is set to release draft guidance for federal agency use of AI systems. The Federal Trade Commission’s Chair Lina M. Kahn signaled the FTC may move to regulate AI. The Biden Administration also announced a series of new actions to promote responsible AI development and emphasize companies’ responsibility to ensure their products are safe and secure for all users. In addition, the attending companies committed to participating in the 2023 DEF CON hacking conference, opening their AI models up to public assessment.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman Urges AI Regulation in Senate Hearing by Cecilia Kang, The New York Times (May 16, 2023)

A congressional hearing with Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, underscored the growing concerns around the potential harm of widespread AI use. During the hearing, Altman advocated for greater legislation surrounding AI and offered potential avenues for doing so. While it is unclear what action Congress will take, the hearing signified a growing interest and willingness to take steps towards AI regulation.

The Global Race to Regulate AI by Rishi Iyengar, Foreign Policy (May 5, 2023)

The recent boom of AI technologies has technologists, researchers, civil society, and lawmakers around the world raising the alarm about the unforeseen dangers of AI. Leading the AI regulation conversation, the EU may set a global blueprint with its forthcoming legislation. However, China’s AI regulation approach is more authoritarian, focusing more on censorship and government control rather than risk-aversion. The two models may further polarize global approaches to the internet and technology.

AI Is About to Make Social Media (Much) More Toxic by Jonathan Haidt and Eric Schmidt, The Atlantic (May 5, 2023)

Widespread use of AI may exacerbate the negative effects of social media, impacting user mental health, increasing social and political divisiveness, and enabling the spread of disinformation. In addition, generative AI images and videos can disrupt public trust in the news and AI-empowered social media can help make services more addictive to users. Haidt and Schmidt put forth five recommendations for addressing these concerns: authenticate all users, clearly label AI generative content, implement data transparency requirements, clarify platform liability for AI use, and set 16 as the minimum age for social media use.

Mark Your Calendar

Join DIGI at RightsCon 2023 on June 7, 9:45 - 10:45 am ET for the roundtable “Code Word: Ethics, Collaborating on Guiding Principles for Technologists.” DIGI is hosting the event with our PIT-UN collaborators to share updates from and solicit feedback on the Guiding Principles for Technologists Can Bolster An Inclusive Digital Future research DIGI launched on tech and ethics at last year’s conference.

RSVP to join New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) on May 23, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET for Data Interoperability: The Next Digital Frontier. The online panel will discuss the importance of data interoperability, the related technical and policy challenges for implementing interoperability across digital solutions, and possible solutions moving forward.

Please let us know what you think and consider sharing this post. You can reach us at DIGI@newamerica.org or @DIGI_NewAmerica. Want more? Check out the Digital Matters from March and April. Make sure to check back next month for a new Digital Matters round-up or sign up here to have DIGI's Digital Matters round-up sent straight to your inbox each month.