Security mechanisms in the digital environment need to be as fast and creative as cybercriminals, in order to minimize risks to the provision of digital services by governments. Illegal practices that cross borders make partnerships between countries increasingly necessary, as well as clearer and more efficient regulations.
Faced with this challenging scenario, authorities from 25 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and international organizations are meeting in Brasília, participating in the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the Inter-American Digital Government Network (Rede Gealc).
The expectation is to move forward, towards establishing agreements and defining good practices in digital government to be followed by all countries in the region. Among the documents to be presented is the proposal for an inter-American reference framework for data governance and artificial intelligence, a document prepared by the Organization of American States (OAS).
According to the main advisor of the OAS Strategic Council Luis Porto, the topics to be debated, aiming at modeling future digital governments, something that covers issues ranging from the implementation of digital signatures to digital security, including system integration between countries in the region, they need to take into account cultural differences, interests, social and power relations.
“We have hard work ahead because, in each country, there are specific practices. Integration is complex because we will have to align interests that are often in conflict”, said Porto during the opening of the meeting.
Challenges
Luis Porto highlighted the need for the group to advance on some of the main topics to be debated: cybersecurity and the data and artificial intelligence framework.
“We are running all the time because the people we work against are running to overtake us. Unfortunately, the private sector always goes faster than the public sector. For a simple reason, in private law you can do anything that is not prohibited. In public law, one can only do what is permitted, even with some safeguards”, argued the OAS representative.
According to him, the fact that the public sector is slower than the private sector is “very dangerous”, which is why it is important to establish regulatory frameworks that enable the public sector to advance quickly in these areas.
Benchmark
“For this reason, the OAS is working very intensely on the development of an inter-American reference framework for data governance and artificial intelligence”, a document that, according to him, will be presented this Tuesday, having as its focal point “the idea that comes from game theory, in which signals allow agents to coordinate, without the need to talk to each other”.
“This digital framework aims for data governance that facilitates regional integration, through the standardization of data governance and trust, through the implementation of policies with more rights for more people”, he added.
Digital citizenship
The head of Division, Innovation for Citizen Services at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Paula Acosta Márquez, argues that cybersecurity policies are a necessary policy for the safe expansion of digital technologies, and that initiatives aimed at digital citizenship represent a historic achievement , in addition to promoting the understanding that, in the digital sphere of countries in the region, it is possible to collaborate and carry out collective efforts that go beyond national borders.
“The pandemic [da covid-19] made the importance of digital technologies for the functioning of society even clearer. In this sense, Brazil is an excellent example, but other countries in the region have also advanced in this area. Our governments are now better prepared to take advantage of this, generating savings for governments and citizens,” he said.
Digital transformation
Brazil was represented at the opening of the event by the Minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Esther Dweck. “In the Brazilian government, we understand that discussing the digital agenda is discussing the future and development. It is about confronting systemic inequality, including technological inequality between countries and people. Therefore, we have used digital resources to provide better public services, more effective and suited to the needs of our citizens”, said the minister.
Esther Dweck considers it urgent to associate digital transformation with inclusion and generation of opportunities, in order to overcome digital gaps. “We need to recognize that digital infrastructures will not be universalized just by market forces”, highlighted the minister.
In this sense, she explained that the Brazilian government is, within the scope of digital governance, concerned with elements such as sovereignty, accessibility, multilingualism and protection of historical and cultural heritage, in addition to actions aimed at resilience in disaster situations, defense of technology transfer and democratization of this governance.
“We need to develop a comprehensive vision of the digital transformation of the State, but we do not want this technological revolution to repeat the central problem of the revolutions that preceded it, an approach to technological modernization that did not always consider people and the planet. Therefore, we need to act urgently to democratize the benefits and mitigate the risks of the digital era”, he added.
