杏吧原创

Gavin Newsom鈥檚 Citizenville shows that technology can empower people, but fails to explore deep-rooted problems within the democratic process

THERE鈥橲 a lot of crime in Oakland, California. But until a few years ago, citizens had little way of assessing the scale of the problem. Then Michal Migurski hurt his back. It was Christmas 2006 and Migurski, a computer programmer, was stuck at home in Oakland, looking for ways to use his time until his back healed. He knew about the area鈥檚 crime problem and decided to create an online map showing where and when crimes had been committed 鈥� something local government had failed to do.

惭颈驳耻谤蝉办颈鈥檚 website gets enthusiastic coverage in Gavin Newsom鈥檚 Citizenville, a homage to technology鈥檚 ability to empower people and reform government. If committed and skilled citizens like Migurski can access official data, for example, they can create services that governments don鈥檛 have time for or aren鈥檛 well equipped to provide. The internet has already disrupted a swathe of industries, from journalism to telecommunications. Citizenville is packed with examples that show that it is government鈥檚 turn.

For the book, Newsom 鈥� California鈥檚 lieutenant governor 鈥� talked to a host of Silicon Valley luminaries, from Google founder Sergey Brin to Tim O鈥橰eilly, tech publisher and one of the most high-profile advocates of the idea that technology can transform government. The result is a 239-page tribute to what the valley does best: suggest radical and scalable ways to do things better.

Unfortunately, Newsom鈥檚 unfettered enthusiasm for the power of the internet and smartphones to transform social and governmental problems makes for a shallow read. Take his analysis of FarmVille, the incredibly successful Facebook game in which players run virtual farms. Why couldn鈥檛 a similar game be used to help govern a real city, he asks? It鈥檚 an intriguing idea, based in part on the argument put forward by Jane McGonigal, a game designer, that gaming can be used to solve real-world problems.

But doesn鈥檛 FarmVille鈥榮 appeal have much to do with its lack of real-life responsibility? Newsom only touches on this before rushing off to his next tech-inspired solution.

It鈥檚 a frustrating approach because Newsom was mayor of San Francisco between 2003 and 2010, and rolled out some bold tech-based reforms during his tenure, so he is well placed to discuss the benefits and difficulties of applying technology to governance.

Some of the most interesting parts of Citizenville address ideas that did not work, like radical transparency. After becoming mayor, Newsom decided to post his diary on the web, until his chief of staff pointed out that fundraising meetings would be visible. Newsom relented, accepting that voters don鈥檛 like to see politicians asking for money.

It鈥檚 a great example of how technology is just part of the reform equation. To truly empower, technology will have to deal with many entrenched problems, ranging from the shameless distortions that most elected officials spout to the huge number of alienated people who don鈥檛 register to vote. Any proper assessment of technology鈥檚 power to change needs to do more than consider the solutions it offers. The impoverished democratic process in the US will not improve until the causes of this situation are part of the discussion.

鈥淭o truly empower, technology must deal with the huge number of people who don鈥檛 register to vote鈥�

Broader initiatives exist, of course. Political scientists who study how misinformation spreads have teamed up with technologists to create systems for reining in erroneous memes, like the claim that Barack Obama is not a US citizen. Public health experts are studying not just the internet鈥檚 ability to communicate health information but also the extent to which that information changes behaviour. It is this kind of thinking, which accepts that technology is only part of the solution, that is missing from Citizenville. I was left wishing that Newsom had focused on just a few of the issues he writes about, and had taken his research beyond the confines of Silicon Valley.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淭here is no app for political reform鈥�