The UK Promotes The Digitalization Of Public Services At The Digital Nations Conference

Published on 20 Nov 2021

The UK's technology minister convened a worldwide summit of digital ministers to advocate for the use of technology to help governments provide more for their citizens and address the world's most pressing concerns, including pandemics, climate change, isolation, and inequality.

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The UK Hosted The Digital Conference

The yearly Digital Nations summit, held this year by the United Kingdom, brought together virtual ministers of digital technology from Canada, Norway, Estonia, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, the Republic of Korea, and Uruguay to discuss the opportunities that artificial intelligence, data science, digital asset, and other cutting-edge technologies may offer.

The above ten Digital Nations governments collaborate on issues relating to government's digital transformation, such as the technical design of digital government programs – like the range of online services available on GOV.UK and the online identity systems that enable the use of e-passports – digital facilities, the advancement and use of data, digital techniques and tools, and the digital literacy of civil servants and end-users.

Following the summit, the ten-member nations issued a joint statement reiterating their commitment to collaborate to speed up digitalization, proceed to use technology to bridge the divide between government and citizens and embrace innovative digital services that have a real-world impact.

Technological Advancements

Technology is already assisting in the betterment of conditions in the United Kingdom. For instance, the NHS Blood and Transplant Service scanned health records to identify urgently needed donors during the pandemic, and improved data sharing is transforming government services, with open banking representations enabling those in finance need to share their earnings with HM Revenue & Customs in order to facilitate their applications for further welfare entitlements.

Today, Minister for Technology and the Digital Economy Chris Philp joined foreign peers in pledging to use digital technology to enhance government services and decision-making. He cited the UK government's newly released National AI Strategy as an example of efforts to promote openness around algorithmic-assisted choices in the public sector and to invest in data science upskilling of the civil service.

Ministers decided to continue using digital technology to mitigate the government's environmental effect, close digital divides, and foster confidence in digital government services by establishing protections for human rights, data protection, and AI ethics and transparency.

"The previous eighteen months have shown that digital transformation is no more a nice-to-have, but a necessary instrument capable of improving lives via the creation of more efficient and creative public services," said Minister for Technology and Digital Economy Chris Philp. The UK is dedicated to using cutting-edge technology to deliver on people's priorities and level the playing field, and it was an honor to host this year's Digital Nations conference in order to exchange ideas and learn from member nations."

 

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