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Ukraine is reportedly laying out plans to establish itself as the “most digital country” in the world. The country’s leaders plan to use technology to make every service digital, which will allow the government to function properly even in difficult circumstances.
The plans emerged after the Russian invasion was first announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky last month and fleshed out by Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov at a conference in Switzerland on Monday.
What is Ukraine trying to achieve?
Before the war, Ukraine already touted itself as a digital leader, so its plan to go 100 percent digital is a continuation of that.
“Digital services cannot be destroyed by missiles, especially if you store data at Amazon or Microsoft,” Fedorov told a conference in Lugano.
One of the main goals is to replace bureaucrats with smartphone apps.
Ukrainians will be able to perform all administrative tasks without visiting government offices or filling out paper forms. This would include everything from registering land, cars or property, to opening a business or completing customs declarations.
Fedorov stressed that the newly laid-off bureaucrats would be retrained for roles in the “new economy”.
But the goal goes much further than transforming government services.
Fedorov and Zelensky also seek to eliminate paper money and replace it with digital (though not crypto) currency, move education and health services online as much as possible, and create a “cyber outpost” to defend against cyberattacks.
Who will build the new systems?
During an address to several technology conferences in mid-June, Zelensky made a direct appeal to “the world’s leading technology companies” to help build the infrastructure.
However, Fedorov made a more general appeal for funds and donations of technology, without specifying the role of big tech.
The deputy prime minister, who is also minister of digital transformation, made much of the systems Ukraine already has, hinting that they will form the backbone.
Ukraine, he said, is already the first country to accept fully digital passports as identification and already has an e-government app called Diia that is used by millions.
When will the plan be implemented?
Fedorov broke the plan down into subject areas, each with its own timeline.
Some needs are more urgent than others. The e-learning plan, for example, has a schedule of only one year.
He stressed that most of Ukraine’s 4.2 million schoolchildren were forced to move by the war.
The government is looking to roll out laptops, tablets and other equipment to help set up the system.
Other goals, such as creating a cashless society, a modern e-health system or a complete overhaul of customs, had three-year deadlines.
Any problems with the approach?
One of the most eyebrow-raising parts of the plan is the use of artificial intelligence in the justice system.
Ukraine has already trialled an artificial intelligence system to produce pre-trial and pre-sentence reports assessing a suspect’s risk of reoffending.
Fedorov presented the idea in his presentation under the title “Judge Dredd”.
The aim is to promote confidence in the judicial system and ensure an “attractive investment environment and business freedom” by using AI in commercial courts.
However, the Fair Trials NGO warned in a report last year that the “very purpose” of using AI to assess risk “is to undermine the fundamental right to be presumed innocent”.
The NGO called for the practice to be banned.
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