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□ Caluwé, L. de & Vermaak, H. (2004). Thinking about change in different colours. *Dynamics of Organizational Change and Learning*, p. 197-226.

□ Cameron, K. S. & Quinn, R. E. (2005). *Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework*. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

□ Collins, J. (2001). Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve. *Harvard Business Review*, Vol. 79, No. 1, p. 66-76.

□ Gao, S. & Low, S. (2014). The Toyota Way model: an alternative framework for lean construction. *Total Quality Management & Business Excellence*, Vol. 25, No. 5-6, p. 664-682.

□ ISACA (2018). *COBIT 2019 Framework: Governance and Management Objectives*. Meadows, IL, US.: ISACA.

□ IT Governance Institute (ITGI) (2013). COBIT 5.0.

□ Smits, D. (2019). *Hard and soft IT governance maturity*. PhD dissertation, University of Twente.
Satisfied or
inspired?

Wouter Bronsgeest

The KNVI is working hard on Smart Humanity, an umbrella theme that we are using to draw the attention of professionals both inside and outside the association. But also the attention of buyers of our professional (information) products.

Some information professionals love it and build with it, others have to get used to the idea or have never read about it. Just as some employees of technology companies are fast pioneers, and others just do 'their thing'. Or as some of the information professionals are busy learning, sharing good practices and engaging in intervention, and others are working on the basis of previously acquired knowledge and are less diligent in keeping up to date. Or, finally, as some professionals are members of the KNVI or another professional organisation, and

others will pass it by.

That difference in enthusiasm has occupied me for some time. Bas Kodden indicates in his publications and in his master class on 'Digital Leadership' at Nyenrode that satisfied employees are great, but that you can only really make progress with passionate employees. On content, on effort and commitment, on intrinsic motivation. That appeals.

Membership of KNVI brings me into contact with Marietje Schaake, chairman of our Advisory Board. Or in conversation with people (i.e. members) who are working on the Dutch Digital Delta. Or with people in Europe or even globally who have the ambition to improve the competences of professionals. This motivates me, and I try to include colleagues in all the opportunities I see. That motivates me, and I try to include my colleagues in all the opportunities I see. Because: technology is less and less of a bottleneck and makes more and more possible. Recently I saw what it meant for a young girl to be able to use two bionic arms. Technology that can totally change a life in a matter of seconds.
changes. At the same time, this
week a picture of my charity was
taken off the net by Facebook's
ethical algorithms. I received a
digital warning for publishing a
photo from a developing country. A
photo that shows how people live
on the other side of the globe, and
who are denied the chance to use
technology to make their lives
substantially better. Because we
need that dirty mine and the raw
materials to make our lives better.

our chips. The two sides of one
technology coin.

Sometimes technology is so
beautiful in its application, and
sometimes it is not. In any case, I
remain intrinsically motivated to
help put technology to the best
possible use. Because so much
more is possible. At KNVI we are
satisfied when colleagues and
professionals come along to the
professional organisation. At KNVI
we are inspired when colleagues
and professionals join in!

Source

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /></figure>

Previously published online at: AG Connect,
https://www.agconnect.nl/blog/tevreden-bevlogen, 4th of January 2019
3
Smart
Citizen
Where can you best see whether your information facilities do or do not meet the requirements of our time? Or to the requirements of various users who all want access to information? Within organisations? Certainly. In public life, in society, among citizens? Yes, definitely! That is why it is so important to know what a 'smart citizen' is, and how we facilitate her and him with facilities.

If we take a closer look, we see that smart people are often not as skilled, and not at all as smart as we think (or wish) they were. And we see that many even have great difficulty keeping up with all the (technological) developments. Knowing how to use a mobile phone does not always mean that someone is also digitally proficient. In other words, citizens have a step to make in becoming more digitally literate - and sometimes they need extra help. And information professionals who support them in giving access to that information, or who create the facilities that give access to information, they too have some work to do. The question is, however, whether these two worlds will come together soon enough...
**Smart people also lack digital quality**

by Victor de Pous

If we take stock of the legal situation, we see that digitisation is constantly leading to more legalisation. There is no escaping the enormous amount of legislation and case law - but also general conditions, contracts and disclaimers - in relation to information technology and its function: automated data processing.

This trend jeopardises the intended legal certainty and the creation of trust. Due to the cascade of digital rules, the risk has grown that rules will contradict each other or that their elaboration will lead to uncertainty. In addition, the timely introduction of ever new regulations, euphemistically stated, is a constant challenge, while the number of legal standards and their individual complexity, such as the General Data Protection Regulation, creates additional problems. To this we must now add the legal securing and further elaboration of social and ethical standards. Despite all the legal frameworks, the individual is still in a tricky position. This is due to the ever-increasing dependence on the availability of information and communication technology, the diverse mix of digital threats and, above all, the lack of digital quality, which should be at the basis of every modern society.
## Vitality and vulnerability

Our society has been under pressure for years. Some important social issues are directly related to digital technology. First of all, we point out the fundamental dependence of ICT and ICT suppliers, especially on the American big company with its monopoly or oligopoly. In terms of policy, there is a remarkable dichotomy. Formally, our government and the European Commission distinguish, on the one hand, organisations from the vital infrastructure such as water, energy and, for example, telecommunication companies and the national government. On the other hand, it concerns the part of the private and (semi) public sectors which are not considered vital.

However necessary this separation may be, we must not forget that both categories are today equally dependent on the availability and proper functioning of ICT. In the vital category, the vulnerability of the process exceeds that of the organisation itself, so that in the event of a failure, there could be serious social disruption and a threat to national security. The importance of digital technology and data processing for the individual, the organisation and society is, however, without a doubt, an accomplished fact. On this basis alone, we can safely assume that the digital sector is generally considered to be socially vital, and this also applies to all kinds of digital processes in or with other sectors - directly and/or indirectly.

Other digital issues in society concern, for example, structurally insufficient digital quality and companies that deceive us. Furthermore, the more notorious threats from the corner of computer crime and foreign 'state actor' are increasing. The law can also threaten - with 'deterrent' sanctions of course, which legislators are using more often, but also because of the size and complexity of the regulation. Can we reasonably still expect SMEs to play by the digital rules? Artificial intelligence is also a threat, as is the use of facial recognition and predictive algorithms. Meanwhile, the notion is gaining ground that the coming decade will be decisive for a
new world order, based on information technology and data. ICT is becoming serious - perhaps superlatively so in the post-COVID-19 world where, according to some, 'remote' is becoming the new normal.

## Defective software

Damage caused by faulty computer programmes is usually of a different nature than the catastrophic consequences of errors in the flight control software system MCAS of the Boeing 737 MAX, which caused two planes to crash. Nevertheless, this is a large, general and global problem: failing information systems due to defects, but also due to human errors or, for example, power failures. However, the problem is not sufficiently widely recognised. One exception is ENISA, the European Agency for Network and Information Security, which points out the painful consequences of digital deficiencies in an annual study in 2017. For example, telecommunications failures in the European Union are mainly caused by (i) software errors and (ii) faulty hardware and not by hackers or cyber saboteurs, although computer crime is undoubtedly also an exceptionally large problem. The weather also appears to be a relevant factor (power outages). Climate change will cause an increase in telecom failures.

## New liability rules

Our government is worried. The coalition agreement 2017-2021 of October 10th 2017 shows that the government wants to stimulate companies to make safer software through a new, special form of legal liability. Note that the measure is limited to the security aspects of computer programmes. At the end of 2012, Nederland ICT (now NLdigital) puts the blame for the use of 'unsafe software' - mainly - on the client. It is possible to develop in a safe way, but if customers do not choose this, nothing happens, according to the sector organisation. Remarkable.
Five years later, the ECP Platform published a twenty-brick action plan. Number 16 reads: "Security in the chain of suppliers is realised by a 'road map' for secure software. Vulnerabilities in software will be resolved through self-regulation and cooperation between users and suppliers." The Rutte III cabinet thinks differently about this. Not self-regulation, but legislation. Rightly so, but it remains deafeningly quiet in The Hague.

## The state of digital security

If you want to know the main outline of the state of digital security, we refer you to co-founder Ronald Prins of security company Fox-IT. During the national privacy debate organised by Bits of Freedom on March 15th, 2018, he stated that you can compare software with an 'apartment building where all the windows are open'. If you close one window (by 'patching' a *zeroday leak*), the rest simply remain open. A disconcerting qualification.

In any case, it is certain that the sector does not produce secure computer programmes on its own and apparently needs an external stimulus, such as a legal threat, in order to improve this extremely crucial product aspect. Depending on how it is worked out, the specific regulation which the government is proposing will shake up the market considerably and subsequently cause implementation problems. Particularly in the case of open source software, partly because it's difficult to determine the code writer in an international community of contributing organisations and individual programmers. Moreover, open source contributors do not consider themselves liable for the consequences of their diligent work.

## Unreliable

Digital regulation aims to provide legal certainty, create trust and facilitate modern business, but also to provide additional protection for consumers as economically weaker parties. In a EU perspective, it is also about unifying the digital market. It must become easier for both entrepreneurs and consumers to trade across borders.
Despite all legal regulations, the digitising society is still partly unreliable and unsafe because of threats that are permanent and continuous. One of the consequences is that people and organisations cannot always be online with confidence.

Although the tax benefits issue shows that a government organisation can make far-reaching mistakes, while there is also concern about the new digital powers of the police and judiciary ('back hacking') and the intelligence and security services ('Schleppnetz fahndung'), in principle the serious digital threats do not come from the Dutch government. In addition to faulty information technology, computer criminality and the actions of state actors, it is companies that, intentionally or not, act in violation of digital and other legal norms that pose a threat to people and organisations, and sometimes to society as a whole. Cambridge Analytica, for example.

## Geopolitics

In the *Cyber Security Assessment Netherlands 2019*, the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security rightly asks attention for the notorious dependence on ICT that makes us vulnerable, even across society. His broader view, which goes beyond espionage and criminality, is striking and praiseworthy. The Netherlands is (also) "dependent on a limited number of providers and countries, which makes us vulnerable to their (changing) intentions", pointing to the US and China. We stated earlier that almost all our personal digital equipment (PC, lap-top, smartphone) runs on American system software that is accessed with a ditto e-mail address. According to estimates, more than 90 per cent of data from Western countries is located in data centres in the US, while Dutch data centres are also increasingly in US hands. Foreign dependence in connection with changing geopolitics as an increased digital threat.
## Controversial trade practices

Deviant commercial behaviour by the tech sector, as is increasingly being asserted today, does not only trace back to the large American companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google. We see all kinds of ICT companies and other entrepreneurs, also from other countries, violating the law with digital products and services. First and foremost, the fundamental right to the protection of our privacy. Apps that do not turn off location registration even though the user has made this known through the setting, websites that install tracking software without permission, shop owners who surreptitiously engage in WiFi tracking of customers and passers-by on public roads, and so on. The list is long and legal incidents are the order of the day.

Another example. December 30th 2019, the Authority Consumer & Market (ACM) imposed millions of fines on KPN, Tele2, T-Mobile and Vodafone for the incorrect and incomplete information about their offers on their websites for consumers. For the record, inadequate (pre-contractual) information is not only detrimental to consumers, but can also lead to unlawful competition.

## Modernist tunnel vision

Practice shows that entrepreneurs, large or small, foreign or of Dutch origin, sometimes focus on the interests of the shareholder with a remarkable tunnel vision. In doing so, they fail to take into account, or insufficiently consider, the compulsory legal framework, business ethics and social aspects of their actions. ICT plays a dubious double role here: a means of creating economic value (preferably as quickly as possible) and a means of violating legal standards. Or to put it another way, using digital cheating to gain market share and generate turnover. Incidentally, lawyers are also involved in this.

The same analysis applies to the use of sham software by car manufacturers. Deception of the testing institute, dealer, buyer and society as a regular business policy with the sole purpose of increasing shareholder value. This is therefore not a modus
operandi of organised crime, but a strategic choice of the upper world - reputable and listed companies.

Another case in point. Thanks to its strategic choice of a legal mix of open source software (Android core) and software products operated under other types of licence (Google Apps), Google has gained a pro-80 cent monopoly on the immense world market for mobile operating systems over the past ten years. In doing so, Google successfully prevented phone manufacturers with an Android version not approved by Google from pre-installing the Google apps desired by users. According to the European Commission, the latter practice violates EU competition law. The Commission therefore imposed a fine of 4,34 billion euros on the tech company on July 18th 2018. However, a fine does not reverse the monopoly (also of Google Search).

## Cybersecurity

Nowadays, computer security mainly involves the composite response to the digitally-related threats posed by traditional malicious parties (and less to unintentional, uncertain incidents). Think of individual or organised criminals, secret services of certain countries, including China, North-Korea, Iran and Russia ('state-cyber tower') and the accidental student who carries out a DDOS attack. Despite security as a diverse legal requirement - whether or not complemented by an obligation to report a breach - and repeatedly tightened criminal law and procedure, this category of 'digital threat' is an ever-growing social problem. The municipality of Lochem, the University of Maastricht and GWK Travelex have also experienced this personally. The Public Prosecution Service expected in 2016 half of all crime in 2021 to be ICT-related - a paradigm shift. Cybersecurity is not an easy race. A series of protective measures requires continuous implementation and regular updating. This is no mean feat, even apart from crime. For example, the lion's share of reported data breaches in the Netherlands are caused by human error. Note that the European Commission has not yet taken a decision on this matter.
The European Commission is unable to pick the low-hanging fruit: a minimum level of technical security in IoT devices is not yet prescribed by law. A missed opportunity.

## Apparent safety

In addition, cybersecurity has a limited focus, resulting in false security. The fully necessary security measures to make people and organisations digitally (more) resilient against the illegal practices of criminals and spies hardly offer any protection, if any, against entrepreneurship, where the basic principle of acting in accordance with legislation and regulations is subordinated to commercial objectives. After all, those who limit themselves to the cybersecurity measures that are sufficiently well known, are not protected against the regular entrepreneur who supplies faulty digital products and services, violates privacy laws, supplies incorrect or incomplete information, uses fraudulent software (i.e. with hidden functionalities to mislead) or abuses a position of dependence or other forms of power, for example.

## Finally

Our fundamental dependence on ICT and the diversity and intensity of digital threats, together with the structural quality shortage in the delivery of digital products, lead to an awkward and undesirable concurrence, which inhibits every organisation and individual, as well as society as a whole. When all is said and done, no one can reasonably participate freely and uninhibitedly, let alone develop digitally without hindrance. Living as optimally as possible in a strongly digitalising society requires a lot from people, such as constantly taking protective measures, acting purely qui-vivially and at the same time remaining constantly up-to-date. This is only possible with sufficient analytical skills and self-discipline - no mean feat.
* Our fundamental dependence on ICT, the range of continuing digital threats and the structural shortage of quality in the delivery of digital products constitute a very unfortunate set of circumstances, which in addition to society as a whole, also inhibits every organisation and individual.

* This social issue means that ICT is more than ever about choices. Sovereign states, regions and for example municipalities each have, to a greater or lesser extent, the power to make policies and regulations that reflect what type of digital society the jurisdiction in question would like to be. Independently, in other words. For example, a government organisation can prohibit the use of face recognition techniques by its own services or ban the use of predictive algorithms. Entrepreneurs, whether they are ICT suppliers or user organisations, can in turn make clear choices, starting with respect to regulatory compliance and shareholder value, but also about ethics and society.

* However, the choices start with the quality of digital technology in general and software code in particular. Seventy-five years after the start of commercial electronic data processing, errors and defects are the order of the second.

* Above all, people must become smarter. The digital society asks more of us compared to the 'analogue' society.
Sources

□ ACM, (2019). Booking past website aan na optreden van de Europese consumententoezichthouders. Den Haag, 20 december 2019. Accessed on https://www.acm.nl/nl/publicaties/booking-past-website-aan-na-optreden-van-de-europese-consumententoezichthouders.

□ BZK, (2017). Regeerakkoord ‘Vertrouwen in de toekomst’. Den Haag, 20 oktober 2017. Accessed on https://www.kabinetsformatie2017.nl/documenten/publicaties/2017/10/10/regeerakkoord-vertrouwen-in-de-toekomst.

□ ECP, (2018). 20 bouwstenen voor een kansrijke en betrouwbare digitale samenleving. Den Haag. Accessed on https://ecp.nl/actueel/20-bouwstenen-kansrijke-en-betrouwbare-digitale-informatiesamenleving-2-2/.

□ ENISA, (2018). 169 telecom incidents reported, extreme weather major factor. Athene, 31 augustus 2018. Accessed on https://www.enisa.europa.eu/news/enisa-news/169-telecom-incidents-reported-extreme-weather-major-factor.

□ Europese Commissie (EC), (2018). Mededingingsbeleid: Commissie legt Google boete van 4.34 miljard euro op wegens illegale praktijken met Android-toestellen om de machtspositie van de zoekmachine van Google te versterken. 18 juli 2018. Accessed on https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/nl/IP_18_4581.

□ Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid, (2019). Cybersecuritybeeld Nederland 2019. Den Haag, 2019. Geraadpleegd op https://www.ncsc.nl/actueel/nieuws/2019/juni/12/csbn-2019-ontwrichting-ligt-op-de-loer.

□ Pous, V. de (2012). Open source and public sector policy. Amsterdam. Accessed on www.newswire.nl.

□ Security.nl, (2012). Nederland ICT: accepteer geen onveilige software, 20 december 2012. Accessed on https://www.security.nl/posting/39339/Nederland+ICT%3A+accepteer+geen+onveilige+software.

□ Volkskrant, (2019). Cruciale Nederlandse datacenters steeds vaker in Amerikaanse handen – is dat erg?. 21 november 2019. Accessed on https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/cruciale-nederlandse-datacenters-steeds-vaker-in-handen-van-amerikanen-is-dat-erg~b8f0ffc0/.
Face Off

Wouter Bronsgeest

**Facial recognition:** in a short space of time, two reports that look at facial recognition technology from completely different perspectives describe. Two messages that also leave me with an uneasy feeling.

This is because of the underlying and still unresolved ethical issue for society. An example of an issue that we should discuss more often as colleagues.

The first example is about a Chinese man wanted by the government for economic crimes. Now the whole world knows about it. This man thought he could attend a concert of the Hong Kong pop star Jacky Cheung without any problems, together with more than 50,000 other fans. If you stand 90 kilometres from your home to listen to the 'God of Songs', you are arrested. The technology is either deployed outside the concert hall, or possibly inside the hall itself.

Probably in combination with software to monitor the crowd. Technology for recognising faces in the dark is already more than three (!) years old. The question is, of course, how far such technology can be used, whether everyone can be 'seen' by software without knowing it. If a Chinese policeman looks at you with one of those glasses from *The Matrix*, you already know: you are being scanned. These glasses are made in China and cost around 1,000 euros. Of course, what is extra interesting is which information professionals have worked on this technology and the algorithms for face recognition. Colleagues of ours are working on the implementation. They are partly responsible for the result and the effect.

The second example is about New Delhi, India. The police could 3,000 missing children in four days by analysing a file of 60,000 missing children and photographs of 45,000 children in shelters. An approach that can help trace more children. To give an idea of the problem:
In the period 2012 to 2017, 240,000 children were reported missing. In New Delhi alone, about 10 children disappear every day. Some disappear, some are kidnapped. Bizarre figures in the year 2018. The use of technology here helps in finding these children, but also in exposing inefficiency and even bureaucracy. For example, many homes were not yet able to share their photo material and many homes lagged behind in raping the numbers of children taken in. Here too, information professionals have played a role in the ICT facilities and their contribution to the result and effect.

The question is, of course, how to deal with this 'bleeding edge' technology. Where is the ethical boundary? And if this is the beginning, where will we be in five or ten years? I do not know. Society is being transformed by technology, and with it the role and place of humankind. Some people expect robots and algorithms to take over the world, others see a wonderful fusion of humans and cybernetics, while still others see ICT as a tool to bring balance to society and for the sustainable use of our planet. KNVI calls this development Smart Humanity. Let me turn the question around: what is your vision of these dilemmas?

## Source

* Previously published online at: AG Connect, https://www.agconnect.nl/blog/face, May 17th 2018 and in IP – vakblad voor informatieprofessionals, august 2019.
# Participating in the digital society - local and at scale

by Piet Boekhoudt

The worldwide spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19, and the related restrictive and far-reaching government measures, have led to a huge increase in online activities in a short space of time.

We use the internet for contact with family and friends, for our news, for shopping online, for learning online, for helping our children at school, for relaxation, for managing our (government) affairs online and for our work. It is safe to say that digitisation has prevented our society from grinding to a halt.

The corona crisis also exposes important societal challenges for further digitalisation of our daily lives. For example, the accelerated digitisation of the workplace contributes to the digital skills of those in work and potentially puts those not in work at a disadvantage. Think of the unexpectedly fast adoption of video conferencing, webinars and video calls and the expected breakthrough in the way we organise our work (more from home). And the skills needed to do so. Various studies show why digital inequality is problematic: the Internet reinforces existing forms of inequality in, for example, income, education, health and participation. An inclusive society is therefore not
possible without a targeted policy to prevent the negative consequences of digitisation. In this contribution, we outline a solution strategy that can contribute to an inclusive digital society.

## Smart user Nellie

The digital society interferes with people's daily lives, both those who can keep up and those who cannot. Although I have known this professionally for a long time, I only realised it when I heard Nellie's story. Her husband always did the administration at home, including the tax return. A few years ago he suffered a TIA. Nellie had to take over the administration from him and soon found out that she had to learn to work better with computers and the Internet. She was very reluctant to do so, but when she was pointed to a course at the local library, she decided to take a chance. She found it exciting and was afraid that she did not have sufficient computer knowledge. But she found that she was not the only one and she did not mind. Later, at a conference, she proudly told us that she was now filing her tax returns online herself, that she felt much more confident and that she had overcome her digital anxiety. She had also bought herself a smartphone and could whatsapp with her twin sister and children. She wanted to tell everyone how important that feeling of digital self-confidence and self-direction is to her.

What touched me most about her story was the moving way she told it. I realised that it had changed her life and made it richer. It made Nellie feel good. And it made me feel good too, it even gave me goose bumps. I now realised that our professional work affects the lives of others on a much deeper level than just learning how to use a computer and the internet.

The story of 'smart user' Nellie stands for that of many others who have been able to take the step to participate in the digital society. But it also stands for the millions of Dutch people - vulnerable target groups such as the elderly, the illiterate, newcomers and those with a low level of education - who have not been able to take the first step into the digital world.
They run up against barriers to making good use of the Internet. Think for example of complex (linguistic) digital information and services, poor accessibility of websites, fewer opportunities to gain experience and limited access to (mobile) internet.

Being able to use a computer and the Internet has become increasingly important for people to be able to participate (and remain) in society in many ways. In other words: if someone is able to take advantage of the possibilities of the Internet, this offers him or her better opportunities for full participation in society.

## Participating by profiting from internet use

The report 'Digital inequality in the Netherlands anno 2018' by Alexander van Deursen (University of Twente) defines being able to profit from internet use as "that someone is able to obtain (positive) results from his internet use" [Van Deursen, 2019]. This involves the following categories of outcomes:

* Economic: income, property, education and work, ...

* Social: identity, being part of a group, ...

* Cultural: being a member of a network or association, ...

* Personal: health, entertainment, well-being, ...

Van Deursen concludes that not everyone benefits equally from the internet. The higher socio-economic class gets the most out of Internet use. The part of the population that potentially benefits the most from internet use, benefits the least from it, for example in terms of work and education. There are many causes and circumstances that can be pointed out for this. Van Deursen systematically breaks this down using the 'Process model of Internet access' (see figure 1).
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1: Process model of Internet access</figcaption></figure>

Whether a person can achieve tangible outcomes from Internet use depends on (1) her or his attitude and motivation, (2) whether she or he has the resources or access to them, (3) whether she or he has sufficient Internet skills, and (4) how and to what extent she or he uses the Internet.

The model is causal and sequential. For example, skills are not learned if there is a lack of motivation and suitable equipment is not available. Each stage is necessary for the next stage and each stage is necessary to achieve a tangible outcome.

In addition, each stage affects 'inclusion indicators', such as income, wealth, having a social network, household composition, education, age and gender. The tangible outcomes in turn affect the inclusion indicators.

## Development of digital skills in context

To be able to keep up in 21st century society, it is therefore important for people to have sufficient digital skills. However, this is about more than the internet skills in Van Deursen's model. Digital skills are often referred to as 'digital literacy', i.e. media literacy, information literacy, basic ICT skills and computational thinking. In the
interesting book *Digital Intelligence* - *What you have to know, learn and do in a digitally connected society*, the authors Hans Hoornstra and Wijnand van Lieshout show by means of the 'Columbus model of 21st century skills' that digital skills will be subject to constant change [Hoornstra & Van Lieshout, 2019]. The authors use the metaphor of the voyage of discovery of Columbus and call it 'driving skills'. However, other skills are needed to be able to use digital skills. These are the so-called 'supporting' and 'connecting' skills. Bearing skills are a condition for lifelong learning and are about depth and personal development, for which agility, entrepreneurship, creative thinking and critical thinking are needed. Connecting skills are about communication, cooperation, social and cultural skills and dream thinking. These are the skills that enable us to connect with the complex and dynamic world around us.

Over the past few years, Stichting Digisterker has developed a vision that already (partly) applies and combines the aforementioned models in educational programmes focusing on digital skills. The motto is 'Digisterker: Dare - Do - Participate'. This motto fits in nicely with the three categories of skills in the Columbus model. In this vision, digital skills are developed in a context that is relevant to people. For example, being able to arrange one's own affairs by learning to work with the digital services of government organisations. It is important that people are helped to dare and want to take the step to get started. Intrinsic motivation and reward are important here: people must have a certain need or experience a sense of urgency and they must be rewarded for taking the step that is difficult for them. This reward consists of, for example, a strengthening of their self-esteem and self-confidence, the feeling of being in control and of 'I'll get by'. This is the feeling that makes people like Nellie feel more connected to their surroundings and to modern society.
## Development of inclusion policies - local and at scale

How can we ensure that more people, like Nellie, feel digitally connected to society? I think this requires an accessible support structure, on the one hand for (permanent) educational offerings and on the other hand for personal help and service. Low-threshold has various sides to it: locally present and close by, in a (public) environment where people can feel welcome, where they can easily use computers and the Internet and where they can practice at their own level and make digital mileage. All this in a non-formal or formal educational setting and under the guidance of qualified and understanding teachers and tutors. Libraries and schools (for young people) are the appropriate institutions for this. The library, for example, has good coverage nationwide and is located with 800 buildings less than two kilometres from the citizen. It is not for nothing that libraries have been able to set up a National Basic Skills Programme: libraries are organised nationally and are embedded in the local social domain. This offers the library great strategic opportunities and possibilities for a contemporary interpretation of its social function.

Within the boundaries of their social mission, libraries are developing new service concepts. A good example of this is the Digital Government Information Point. The Digital Government Information Points are there for people who have difficulty with digital services and have questions about doing digital business with the government. In this, libraries work together with the Manifestgroep, a partnership of national public service providers such as the Tax and Customs Administration, the SVB, the CAK and the UWV. This shows how a national approach with a local effect works. The national scale offers opportunities for local scaling up, which brings the help close to the target group of an estimated 4 million Dutch people.

Because of the complex interaction of the phases, Van Deursen argues for inclusion policies that address all phases of Internet access simultaneously. How this should be done in practice is not yet clear.
This is not easy, because digital inclusion cannot be the exclusive domain of, for example, a single government body. Nevertheless, we do see coherence emerging in Dutch government policy that can support such an integrated approach. The establishment of the Digital Living Alliance (www.digitaalsamenleven.nl) is an example of this. The importance of this is that a network around digital inclusion is developing, that movement is created and that the subject of digital inclusion is put on the political agenda. A follow-up to agenda-setting is the development of national policy, with the idea of a Ministry of Digital Affairs responsible for the broad social impact of digitisation.

## Conclusion and recommendations

We started this contribution with the observation that the corona crisis reveals a challenge of digital inclusion. Everyone sometimes feels that they belong to the target group of non-digits, for example because they cannot keep up with developments. People with 2first-century skills can regain that leg. But vulnerable target groups in particular are in danger of missing the boat completely, because they do not have these skills, they are more likely to fall further behind and cannot (any longer) benefit from the facilities that are essential to them. This leads us to the following three recommendations:

* Beware of the counterproductive effect of digitalisation on vulnerable target groups.

* Use and strengthen aid structures, from a national approach with a local impact.

* Develop national policy, with the idea of a Ministry of Digital Affairs responsible for the broad social impact of digitisation.

Digital inclusion is not an end state that we can work towards in a planned way. It is an ongoing and necessary social process.
We will have to look ahead in order to be able to move with the rapid developments. We will have to look ahead, to move with the rapid developments. And we will have to adapt our support programmes accordingly. But we will also have to look back regularly to make sure that everyone is still on board, and that we do not leave anyone behind along the way.

* Digitalisation strengthens existing forms of social inequality.

* The development of aid structures for digital inclusion is possible from a national approach with a local impact.

* National inclusion policies can be shaped more effectively from a Digital Ministry.

## Thank you

This contribution was made possible by the input and ideas of my colleagues Angeliek van der Zanden and Jan van Avezaath. I would like to thank them for that!

## Sources

- Deursen, A. van (2019). *Digitale ongelijkheid in Nederland anno 2018*. Enschede: Universiteit Twente.

- Hoornstra, H. & Lieshout, W. van (2019). *Digitale intelligentie – Wat je moet weten, leren en doen in een digitaal verbonden samenleving*. Amsterdam: Business Contact.
# Login and Connect

Wouter Bronsgeest

The words from Princess Laurentien van Oranje's opening keynote at the Smart Humanity 2019 congress still resonate: "Dear information professional, make sure you are not a 'solver', but a 'connector'. Listen to the people you help, try to understand them and put yourself in their shoes. And use that in your work before you come up with solutions."

These fitting opening words marked the start of the second KNVI Smart Humanity event, which focuses on the role of information professionals in society. In addition to deepening its knowledge of the subject and its lifelong development, KNVI is also committed to emphasising the responsibility of information professionals for society.

The use of more and more advanced technology raises ethical questions. The use of ever more advanced technology raises ethical questions. These are an important part of the work

of professionals who offer their products and services to citizens, businesses and government. For unfortunately, stigmatising discount cards for "less fortunate children", video surveillance of unsuspecting shoppers, lottery services that use methods at the edge of ethically permissible internet and sales techniques are also the work of information professionals.

This week, I wanted to celebrate my 250th login and password. However, the World Economic Forum (WEF) along with Fernando Corbato (the inventor of computer passwords!) were ahead of me. They published a blog on November 18th 2019 with the news that an average consumer has about 191 usernames and corresponding passwords. With, of course, a lot of duplicates in it. And that is fodder for users of the 'dark web', because there you can buy a stolen bank account with login code or an Uber account for 7 dollars. A bargain: the 7 euros is quickly recouped if the account is only used once on behalf of the 'real' owner.
But who is actually the owner? Very recently, a large group of insured persons was allowed to experience how bad the is when your trusted insurer decides to come up with a complicated login procedure "to show you your data" safely. Many customers had to work with DigiD apps, new applications, codes and all kinds of additional digital forms. A digital jungle for one of the many accounts that a consumer has. And a disturbing approach for anyone who is not more than averagely digitally experienced.

Gartner predicts that the days of passwords and log-ins will soon be over. They foresee that companies will come up with even smarter ways to keep 'consumers' safe.

to help. I hold my breath: once the algorithm that made your mobile device out of your iris scan or fingerprint is for sale on the dark web, you will have lost it forever. Of course

It is nice that there are possibilities to manage your own data. But how many consumers know how to organise this? I am afraid that many will lose out to the so-called consumer-friendly services of commercial service providers. But I hope that I am wrong and that the legislator and the information professional are one step ahead of this development and come up with a really smart solution. Smart Humanity... here we come!

## Source

Previously published online at: AG Connect, https://www.agconnect.nl/blog/blog-and-connect, November 13th 2019 and in IP - trade journal for information professionals
# The privacy of the (smart) citizen in the smart city

by Natascha van Duuren

Smart cities raise complex legal questions. Many of these questions are related to data. After all, smart cities collect data or combine data in various ways. Sometimes risk profiles are created or even decisions taken. This contribution examines a number of these questions and attempts to provide a solution.

## Smart city and the Dutch strategy

The term 'smart city' has existed since 2005 and was introduced by major tech companies such as IBM, Siemens and Cisco. In 2017 the subject was put on the government's agenda and the NL Smart City Strategy was presented: 'The future of living'.

The advantages of smart cities are clear. They can contribute to solving major social problems, such as climate and energy use. But there are also solutions whose benefits are more concrete for most people. Think of smart cameras that count empty spaces in bicycle sheds. But also lampposts that measure noise and air quality or film the surroundings, smart sensors
in rubbish bins and traffic lights that give a green light to cyclists more often when it rains. A very current example is, of course, crowd management, which was put in place during the corona pandemic.

## Data, lots of data

Many data are collected in smart city projects, including personal data. Pursuant to Article 15 AVG, citizens must not only be informed in advance, but must also be able to inspect the data collection. In practice, it seems difficult to meet these requirements. In a smart city, citizens are hardly or not at all informed about which personal data are collected and for what purpose. The question is how this duty to inform can be organised in practice. Hang the whole city full of texts informing the citizen? Or a system with icons that inform the citizen?

An additional complexity is that municipalities themselves sometimes hardly have an overview of all the personal data that is processed in their smart city. In that case, the smart city seems to be a black box for the municipality, which makes it very difficult to meet the obligation to provide information.

## Anonymous personal data?

Many municipalities indicate that they only use 'anonymous data' in their smart cities. In many cases this means that they use pseudonymised data. Pseudonymisation is a security measure whereby personal data are processed without it being clear which persons the data relate to. Data can only be traced back to a specific person if additional data is used. In the case of pseudo information, however, it is still personal data. The municipality is therefore still obliged to comply with the privacy laws and regulations.

Even if a municipality only processes anonymous data, municipalities must realise that anonymised data can be traced back to individuals more easily than is often the case.
thinks. Researchers from the American MIT University concluded
that you only need four information points, such as locations or
purchases, to identify 90 per cent of individuals.

The argument of municipalities that in smart cities they 'only
process anonymous data' is therefore not enough. In their risk
analysis, municipalities are well advised to assume that they are
dealing with personal data (and that they must therefore comply
with the legislation on privacy).

Risk of structural disadvantage of certain groups,
unjustified exclusion or stigmatisation of citizens in the
smart city

In smart cities, not only are a lot of data collected, but these data
are also combined with each other. Think of combining absenteeism
figures with data about unemployment, debts, overweight, police
figures and social media messages. This can be used, for example,
to try to predict the risk of dropping out of school. An even more far-
reaching step is making decisions based on data. The AVG imposes
strict requirements on this type of data processing.

For example, the municipality will have to inform citizens about
the 'underlying logic' of the algorithm. The criteria on the basis of
which a decision is made must be made clear in a comprehensible
manner.

Furthermore, the AVG is based on the principle that no one may
be subjected to a decision that is exclusively based on automated
processing and that has important (legal) consequences for him or
her (Art. 22 AVG). In that case, the citizen must always have the
possibility to have the decision reviewed by a human being, to
express his or her point of view or to challenge the decision in court.
Similar safeguards result from the General Administrative Law Act
(Awb), insofar as the decision would be a decision of an
administrative body.
Of course, algorithms must be prevented from being biased. A smart city should not lead to the structural disadvantage of certain groups, to unjustified exclusion or stigmatisation. People often do not realise that this already starts with the data collection: which data do you collect and which categories (e.g. groups) do you distinguish? A justified concern that is sometimes mentioned in the context of a smart city is that a smart city could cause *social chilling* or *social cooling*. This means that people will conform to the prevailing standards and behave in a reserved, non-creative and risk-averse manner. The ethical question related to this - and which is also rightly raised - is to what extent citizens are allowed to be imperfect and deviate from the defined norms? Norms that are in fact defined by data. Moreover, managers of smart cities should realise that a pattern in data need not be reality. After all, with different algorithms, you could get different results. In smart cities, the results of algorithms and data analyses must therefore always be tested.

## Cyber security must be a priority in a smart city be number one

The large amount of data processed in a smart city means that information security must be priority number one. Imagine a cybercrime attack on a smart city. There is not only the risk that (sensitive) data of many citizens will be put on the street. It is also possible that the cyber attack is aimed at utilities or other facilities from the vital sector, with all the consequences this entails. This with all its consequences. In a smart city, information security must therefore be at the top of the policy and implementation agenda. The question is whether the Baseline for Municipal Information Security (BIG) is sufficient to protect smart cities against these kinds of risks. This is the reason why municipalities should organise a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) at the start of every smart city project, which should be able to identify the biggest risks.
## Risk of over-dependence on powerful technology companies

As noted earlier, the smart city was introduced by large tech companies. Even now, large tech companies often play an important role in smart cities. After all, it seems almost impossible to build a smart city without using cloud and platform solutions. Besides the fact that these are often large and powerful parties, these parties usually come from the US. Our digital infrastructure is largely dependent on the US and China. This is certainly a point for attention. Municipalities would do well to be critical of the private parties they engage and which agreements can be made with these parties. In addition, municipalities should realise that the business model of companies that are active in the smart city market is sometimes based entirely on the 'new gold': data. They will therefore do everything in their power not to make this data public. This is of course at odds with (privacy) legislation. The risk of vendor lock-in also lurks. In other words, because of contractual agreements and the far-reaching interweaving of process agreements, municipalities can no longer contract other suppliers. It is therefore very important that municipalities prevent themselves from becoming dependent on large and powerful technology companies when realising a smart city.

## The future of living?

The Rathenau Institute has identified seven public values that may come under pressure in the smart city: privacy, security, justice, autonomy, control over technology, human dignity and balance of power.

A number of these public values have been discussed in this contribution. The fact that the other values have not been discussed does not mean that they are less important. Safeguarding these values in a smart city is complex. This is probably why smart cities seem to be slow to get off the ground. An important step forward is that VNG members have agreed to the Digital Society Principles.
This common framework ensures that in every municipality there
is a level playing field for discussions with providers. This can
strengthen the position of municipalities in relation to the
(sometimes powerful) market parties. At the same time, the
principles must safeguard the public values, including, of course,
the privacy of the (smart) citizen in the smart city.

* In a smart city, a lot of personal data is collected from citizens. It does not seem easy to comply with the legal obligation to provide information in a smart city. Options such as covering the entire city with texts that inform the citizen or a system with icons that inform the citizen quickly run into practical objections. The fact that the smart city is often a black box for municipalities also makes it difficult to comply with the legal obligation to provide information.

* Municipalities should be very alert to the risk of structural segregation of certain groups, unjustified exclusion or stigmatisation of citizens. These risks may be lurking in a smart city.

* It seems almost impossible to build a smart city without using cloud and platform solutions. Municipalities should avoid becoming dependent on powerful (often foreign) technology companies.
Sources

* Autoriteit Persoongegevens. (2019, 7 oktober). Waarborg privacy in de ontwikkeling van Smart Cities. Accessed on https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/nl/ nieuws/waarborg-privacy-de-ontwikkeling-van-smart-cities.

* Future City Foundation. (2019, oktober). Een slimme stad zo doe je dat. Accessed on https://future-city.nl/bestel-het-boek-een-slimme-stad-zo-doe-je-dat/.

* The Hague Security. (2017, januari). Delta. NL Smart City Strategy. Geraadpleegd op https://www.thehaguesecuritydelta.com/media/com_hsd/report/114/document/NL-Smart-City-Strategie-.pdf.

* Informatiebeveiligingsdienst. (2016, juni). Tactische baseline informatiebeveiliging Nederlandse gemeenten. Accessed on https://www.informatiebeveiligingsdienst.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Tactische-Baseline-Informatiebeveiliging-Nederlandse-Gemeenten-v1.02.pdf.

* Mulder, E. (2017, november). Smart Cities: een internationaal perspectief. Accessed on https://www.forumstandaardisatie.nl/sites/default/files/BFS/4-basisinformatie/publicaties/Smart-Cities-een-internationaal-perspectief.pdf.

* Naafs, S. (2017, 6 december). De muren hebben sensoren. Accessed on https://www.groene.nl/artikel/de-muren-hebben-sensoren.

* Raaphorst, R. (2018, 13 november). Zeven waarden onder druk. Accessed on https://future-city.nl/zeven-waarden-onder-druk.

* Rathenau Instituut. (2017, 17 november). De slimme stad in de praktijk. Accessed on https://www.rathenau.nl/nl/digitale-samenleving/de-slimme-stad-de-praktijk.

* Rathenau Instituut. (2017, 30 november). Hoe beschermen gemeenten publieke waarden in de slimme stad? Accessed on https://www.rathenau.nl/nl/digitale-samenleving/hoe-beschermen-gemeenten-publieke-waarden-de-slimme-stad.

* Rathenau Instituut. (2017, 17 november). Steden gedreven door data. Accessed on https://www.rathenau.nl/nl/digitale-samenleving/steden-gedreven-door-data.

* Uitvoeringswet Algemene verordening gegevensbescherming (2020, 1 januari). Accessed on https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0040940.

* VNG. (2019, 1 november). Principes voor de digitale samenleving. Accessed on https://vng.nl/sites/default/files/2019-11/lbr-19-091.pdf.

* VNG. (2019, 29 november). VNG leden akkoord met principes digitale samenleving. Accessed on https://vng.nl/nieuws/vng-leden-akkoord-met-principes-digitale-samenleving.
# From Smart City to Smart Humanity: what are municipalities doing with their IT?

Klaas Brongers

In the run-up to the municipal council elections, the 'Tech and Policy' programme was organised in Amsterdam on 21 March 2018. The line-up in Pakhuis de Zwijger was impressive, as was the turnout.

Alexander Rinnooy Kan, professor at the University of Amsterdam, sees both opportunities and threats. A threat that primarily requires attention is the enslaving and manipulative effect of social media. As a missed opportunity, he mentioned the absence of a minister or secretary of state for ICT in the new cabinet. And he sees an inherent tension between the free scientific development of technology and its practical translation into the reality of city and policy.

Marleen Stikker, director of the Waag Society, discussed the impact of technology on citizens. Nud-ery through algorithms, commercial use of data by Apple, Facebook and Google and the influence of Airbnb and Uber on our economy. Technology, the economy and power can no longer be seen separately from each other. Citizens must be able to influence this. Open source, technological literacy and policy design labs can contribute to this. The municipal CSO and CTO spoke enthusiastically about the perspective of the smart city.

Six municipal group chairmen then discussed the use and ownership of data. Can you use sensors and data to predict and respond to the behaviour of citizens? How can you deal with open data?

Should municipalities do more with ICT themselves and develop alternatives to the commercial platforms? And above all: to what extent is the citizen actually interested in technology?

What do I expect from politicians at municipal level? Positions on use and ownership
of data seems to me more
something for the national or even
the European level. Using your own
ICT to compete with commercial
platforms? Reading the *Parool
newspaper* about the difficult
course of municipal ICT projects
does not give me much confidence
in our own abilities in this area. But
I do expect
I want the services provided by
the municipality to be accessible
digitally. And that municipalities
respond to the major
decentralisations.

I also expect that not everything
will be thought up on our own, but
that there will be cooperation with
other municipalities via the VNG
and the EU. And that customer
journeys, open source and open
standards are used. I applaud
blockchain initiatives close to the
citizen, as in Utrecht and Zuidhorn.
In any case, I assume that
municipalities will put their
citizens first, with the same theme
as the KNVI: Smart Humanity.

Source

Previously published online at: AG Connect,
2https://www.agconnect.nl/blog/1- from-smart-city-to-smart-humanity,
March 2018.
# IT guy, come out of the basement!
## Veterans welcome to urban innovation

by lemke Idsingh

Everything that moves in the city is increasingly innovated. The 'addiction' of the city is visible everywhere - from the experimental stage to now more mature solutions. Often driven by technology, fortunately increasingly by the demands of citizens and businesses. It is striking how often the average IT person remains on the sidelines. Now is the time to use their experience and get involved!

Public discussions show that we need to solve 'classic' issues, similar to the challenges that IT professionals have already faced in the past. Think of data security, infrastructure availability and solution performance.

## Urban information backbone

A great leap forward is needed: beyond the individual ad hoc innovations towards an urban information backbone. Because of the technology? No, it is about the human dimension in the much vaunted smart city. After all, ethics and technical security go hand in hand.
A 24/7 active city requires a reliable and available backbone. Transparency for citizens also consists of well-validated and standards-based quality software. IoT can bring the city to a standstill (think of the recent train breakdown in the Schiphol tunnel for which only the software of one sensor was responsible), which suggests the need for parallel alternatives. Protection of personal data requires robust and responsible management. These are all classics from an IT perspective.

The citizen himself has become an information professional - time for the IT professional to apply experience and skill to match the now high expectations. Reliability also requires a facilitating role from the public sector - the government to which we have traditionally entrusted the protection of the interests of society as a whole. After all, we cannot leave an urban backbone to the whims of individual programmers, suppliers and technicians. National and local governments must cooperate and set frameworks. Just as we did before with our sewage system, water supply, rural motorways and the electricity grid. The more we depend on urban innovations, the greater the call for a robust basic public infrastructure. We must not leave anyone behind in this movement. After all, a digital divide in society is lurking. It is striking that the various coalition agreements still make little mention of this type of ambition.

## Pitfalls in the city

For the IT professional, this means there is work to be done. The experience of 'industry veterans' is particularly welcome. There are potholes enough in the streets of the physical city. So let's avoid the well-known IT pitfalls in virtual reality.

The responsibility of the IT professional goes beyond short-term whims such as AI, big data, IoT and whatever else may come our way. There is also a need for broad-based guardians of the urban backbone. It is the responsibility of the IT professional to
to join the various initiatives - from City Deals to the NL Smart City Strategy, from local living labs to supplier product development, from urban planning to IT architecture.

Smart Humanity - the theme used by KNVI - calls for the cross-links outlined above. From technical connectivity to connecting to the challenges of society. From mainly internal and technically oriented automation to meaningful solutions 'out there in the city'. IT professionals are the potential connectors. They can convert smart city dreams of policy makers into realistic and widely accepted solutions. In addition, and not unimportant in the current strained labour market, the sharing of knowledge between young starting freshly graduated students and the aforementioned professionals is a valuable catalyst for urban innovations.

## Smart balance

Brainpower, creativity and innovations are in good hands with citizens and start-ups. The abundance of (partial) solutions has made that much clear. Give them room. The longer-term interests of society as a whole will now receive the much-needed attention. This will bring the smart city into balance.

We must move beyond individual ad hoc innovations towards an urban information backbone, taking into account the human dimension and ethical effects.

IT professionals are the potential connectors that can turn the smart city dreams of decision-makers into realistic and widely accepted solutions.

Above all, give space to the input of citizens and companies and their (partial) solutions.
## Sources

* City Deals from Agenda City. Consulted on https://agendastad.nl/city-deals/.

* Future City Foundation. Accessed at https://future-city.nl/.

* G40 municipalities and Smart City. Consulted on https://www.g40stedennetwerk.nl/themagroep/smart-cities.

* National Smart City Living Lab. Consulted on https://slimstestad.nl/#programma.

* NEN (2020). Dutch Practical Guideline 'Open Urban Platforms'. Consulted on https://www.nen.nl/npr-8284-2020-en-270238.

* VNG and the Smart Society. Consulted on https://vng.nl/rubrieken/ subjects/smart-society.

Adaptation of an article previously published on AG Connect: https://www.agconnect.nl/artikel/iter-kom-uit-de-kelder, September 28, 2018
# How smart mobility makes it more pleasant for road users

by Joost van Lier, Jurjen Braakhekke
and Theo Kishna

Rotterdam cyclists get a green light faster and longer at certain traffic installations when it rains. The city is conducting trials with intelligent trans-port systems, also known as ITS. Other systems inform road users to reduce speed when wind gusts are detected, such as on the bridge over the Hollands Diep (A16).

These are examples of smart mobility, and therefore a relevant preview of Smart Humanity. Smart mobility concerns the deployment of innovative ICT solutions to keep the Netherlands safe, liveable and accessible, now and in the future. In terms of mobility, it does not matter whether the transport of people and goods takes place by road, rail, water, air (all modalities) or a combination of these.

More and more sensors are being deployed and intelligent transport systems (ITS) developed around all these modes. Making the collected and analysed data available provides new possibilities to inform users via information panels and service providers, such as broadcasters and route navigation system providers. The sensors used within an ITS not only measure the speed of traffic, but also
local weather conditions and, in some places, the air pollution level.

## Developments

Systems that automatically collect data, analyse it and offer it to road users are so well established in the Netherlands that the average commuter no longer gives it a second thought. Nevertheless, there are technological developments that require attention because of their great impact on Dutch society. Only recently, the rise of Internet technology has given new players in retail, tourism and services enormous opportunities. This is now also happening within the transport and public transport sector.

Electric bicycles give people the freedom to travel faster and over greater distances. In public transport, more information panels are being installed at bus stops to give travellers a more accurate idea of the current waiting time. At the same time, mobile apps are giving travellers signals to leave in time to arrive at their next appointment. Trials are also taking place to inform travellers about alternative routes and departure times, but also about journey times using other means of transport. Finally, we see more and more experiments with autonomous vehicles on the road, on rail, on water and in the air.

In the technical field, we are seeing a trend where sensors are becoming more intelligent and wirelessly linked. Together with the autonomous provision of data via the cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions are possible, for example in the public domain, where full waste controllers autonomously send signals to the route planning system of waste trucks. It also allows home automation sensors and systems to autonomously transmit alarms and signals to cloud applications to replenish supplies or call for care assistance. In recent decades, the industry has completely transformed from large-scale production for stock to just-in-time systems on customer order.

Other technologies will also offer opportunities in the field of transport. For example, 3D printing, which has been adopted in
dental surgery, in which prostheses are printed, is becoming more common. This has consequences for the transport sector, because traditional boundaries are blurring between disciplines such as civil, traffic and transport, urban planning, ICT and production. In addition to the aforementioned opportunities, there are subjects that are insufficiently developed within smart mobility, such as the transport of people and goods with autonomous planes or drones.

## Challenges

For the development and use of intelligent transport systems, there are still challenges to be solved. First there is the legal framework. When we look at autonomous means of transport, the law does not yet regulate liability. In case of incidents, the question of who is liable is already frequently asked. The manufacturer, the owner or the occupants of the vehicle?

Another challenge is to embrace or keep up with the new developments. We think that only seniors drop out, but that turns out to be an urban myth. Other age groups also consciously or unconsciously drop out. People who consciously opt out specifically choose not to embrace digital means. The legislator does not have to take this into account. Unconscious switching off happens more and more. Developments are going faster and faster, just like the exponential curve for processor capacity. More and more people are having trouble keeping up with developments and embracing the new possibilities.

Another challenge is to find enough trained staff. This personnel is needed to make the developments possible. More technicians are needed to build and maintain the new technology. In addition, the professional groups that are affected by this far-reaching technological development of society must also be retrained. With the advent of autonomous means of transport, a different contribution is required from drivers, machinists, captains and pilots. Both issues require a concrete adaptation of studies and learning patterns.
All in all, we can conclude that the new technology will bring a
lot to today's society. Technology is moving forward and offers a
range of new possibilities. However, there are still a number of
challenges that we as a society must address and solve before that
time comes.

* New technology in the field of smart mobility can make travel better, more flexible and more informed.

* In order to facilitate new developments, the legislator should come up with new legislation more quickly.

* It is not only seniors who are dropping out of technological innovations; other age groups are also dropping out.

* To adequately facilitate new opportunities, we need adequately skilled personnel. The question is whether we can find them.

Sources

□ Buckl, C., Camek, A., Kainz, G., Simon, C., Mercep, L., Stähle, H. & Knoll, A. (2012). *The software car: Building ICT architectures for future electric vehicles*. Paper presented at the IEEE 2012International Electric Vehicle Conference.

□ Connekt. (2011). *ITS in the Netherlands*. Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment.

□ Coppola, R. & Morisio, M. (2016). Connected car: technologies, issues, future trends. *ACM Computing Surveys*, 49(3), p. 46.

□ Dekker, F. & Veen, R. van der (ed.). (2017). *Het Midden Weg? Technologische ontwikkeling, globalisering, bedrijfsbeleid en kansen op de arbeidsmarkt*. Delft: Eburon.

□ Jeske, T. (2013). Floating Car Data from Smartphones: What Google and Waze Know about You and How Hackers Can Control Traffic. *Proceedings of the Black Hat Europe*, p. 1-12.

Adaptation of an article previously published on AG Connect:
https://www.agconnect.nl/artikel/hoe-smart-mobility-het-voor-de-weggebruiker-prettiger-maakt, August 20th 2018
4

# Smart Data
Data. A short word of two syllables and four letters, which conceals a whole world. And a word that is supplemented by a third and fourth syllable to form even more important words: data management, data centrism, data mining, data quality, data security... Is data now gold or is data a raw material that, with additional processing, can only lead - polished and all - to brilliant information through algorithms?

When you say data, you are quick to talk about analyses and algorithms.

And about artificial intelligence and all its applications and derivatives. In this part of the book, you will find some reflections on the question of what we can and should do with that data. Cause for further reflection, because there ...are no answers (yet).
# Big data in itself is nothing

Vincent Janssen in
conversation with Jim Stolze

> "If you read the newspapers lately, it's often about big data, artificial intelligence and concerns about privacy. There are also many misunderstandings about this," says Jim Stolze, innovation expert and tech entrepreneur. He wants to dispel these misconceptions.

The greatest misunderstanding, according to Stolze, is what he calls "anthropomorphism"; in other words, ascribing human characteristics to non-human things. Such as machines and algorithms. Because of this, we are afraid that robots, for example, could suddenly become self-thinking killing machines. The media often write alarmingly about big data and automation. According to the founder of TEDxAmsterdam, this is not necessary at all: "We blame algorithms, while the fault actually lies with ourselves.
Algorithms

are only advanced human tools.

## Behind the algorithms

> "In the Netherlands everyone has an opinion about algorithms, but few people have read up on them. I am constantly trying to feed the social debate with facts and insights.

> ten. An example: "Big data is nothing in itself. People call it the new oil, but we can't get it out of the ground yet! For that you need new tools and those tools are mathematical models, or algorithms."

## Artworks

> "Because algorithms are invisible, I have - together with colleagues - We intend to put them in the spotlight in different ways. We will do this by means of a national AI course and interactive art installations." Meanwhile, two of these installations can already be admired. The Mindfulness Machine is a robot that makes black-and-white images entirely autonomously and then displays them in a different way.
colours. The other work of art, the Crypto Fountain, visualises the prices of crypto currencies, such as Bit coin, Ether and Ripple, by making jets of water fluctuate throughout the day.

## Hall of Fame

To draw extra attention to algorithms, Stolze is contributing to the so-called *Algorithm Hall of Fame*.

"This is still a list on the internet, but we are lobbying to make a physical space for this as well." In other words, if it were up to Jim Stolze, the He will put the developments and our perception of algorithms and data through their paces.

## Source

Adaptation of a previously published article in the *IP*, see also: https://smarthumanity2018.knvi.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/IP-special-Smart-Humanity-2018.pdf August 2018
# Quality of thought and the relationship with data quality

by Danny Greefhorst

There is an increasing flow of data, information and knowledge. The question is what this all means. Some see it as "information overload", while others see it as a form of meaning - the flow of data is a higher goal towards an Internet of all things.

In practice, we will have to adapt to this new reality. Moving at maximum speed with this increasing flow has implications both for ourselves and for the data flow we generate. If we are not careful, we will drown in the stream. There is a need for a higher quality of thinking as well as a higher quality of data. In this contribution, I explore these qualities, their relationship and the importance of context and ethics.

## The significance of the increasing flow

As human beings, we will have to adapt to the increasing availability and exchange of data, information and knowledge. If we do nothing, we will simply be swamped. Our heads will increasingly be filled with all kinds of impressions, facts, feelings and thoughts. It will be increasingly difficult to separate these things from each other, given the increase in size and speed of the flow. In order to
stay afloat, we will cling to what we can quickly imagine and what others tell us. Whether this is the most sensible thing to do and whether it is in line with what we want and how we want to relate to others, is questionable. The chances are that we make suboptimal choices and simply go along with others. The social media allow us to live in filter bubbles, where we only get to see information that has been selected by the built-in algorithm. We don't get to see information that contradicts our own point of view. Populism lurks and morality comes into play. Before we know it, we unconsciously find ourselves on the wrong side of the line and cause greater differences and further damage to our physical living environment (see also [Harari, 2017]).

Our basic attitude should therefore be critical. We must constantly ask ourselves what the flow of data and information means, separate facts from thoughts and make conscious choices based on a logical line of reasoning. Critical thinking is a skill that helps to curb the natural tendency to believe anything and to recognise and avoid hidden assumptions, illogical reasoning and thinking errors. Critical thinking is probably as old as mankind. Buddha and Socrates already used critical questions to determine whether knowledge based on authority can be rationally, clearly and logically justified. Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines assumptions, distinguishes between guaranteed values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions and assesses conclusions. It requires a willingness to critically evaluate one's own reasoning and revise one's beliefs when the necessary arguments arise.

## Quality of thought

A critical attitude leads to a higher quality of thinking. It ensures that we make better and more transparent choices. In practice, it means that you have to ask more questions. You have to look at things from all kinds of perspectives, aspects and interests and reflect on what people say. Everything that is unclear will then lead to questions. The
asking questions is done as an individual, but it will also often be in
groups, for example in meetings, gatherings or conversations. The
type of questions asked therefore depends on the phase of the group
process. In general, a group process consists of three phases:
forming an image, forming a judgement and making a decision. The
key questions associated with these phases are "what do we know?",
"what do we think?" and "what do we decide?".

The core questions mentioned can be further broken down into
more specific questions as shown in the figure1. The questions are
relevant to more phases, but in the figure they are roughly
positioned under the most relevant phase. They are a translation
and summary of the questions as described by Linda Elder and
Richard Paul in their book on critical thinking [Elder & Paul, 2013].
The authors have clustered the questions according to quality
dimensions, which they themselves call "intellectual standards". By
using these quality dimensions in a structured way and asking the
right questions, a certain quality of thinking emerges. Another part
of the toolkit as described by Elder and Paul consists of a

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1: Thinking skills and their role in group processes</figcaption></figure>
thinking model that highlights various aspects of an issue. In this model, the authors distinguish between goal, key question, information, interpretation, concepts, assumptions, implications and point of view. Explicitly distinguishing between these aspects ensures that a logical line of reasoning emerges.

## Data quality

People have their own responsibility for dealing with the increasing flow of data and information by ensuring a certain level of thinking. However, the amounts of data and information are too large for humans to process them all. As a human being, you cannot oversee it all. That is why it is interesting to see that thinking quality has a direct relationship with data quality. Data quality is something that can be checked partly automatically, which means that data of a low quality can be filtered out partly automatically.

Data quality is the degree to which data satisfies the needs of the user. It concerns dimensions such as correctness, completeness, consistency, timeliness, plausibility, precision and traceability. There are standards that offer a list of quality dimensions, such as the ISO/IEC 25012 [ISO, 2008] and 25024 standards (see figure 2). They also indicate how you can measure data quality by describing indicators. Indicators are concrete measurable properties, which can be used, for example, to show quality in a dashboard or report. The standards also distinguish between quality dimensions that are mainly about the data itself (inherent data quality) and quality dimensions that are more related to the system that offers the data (system-dependent data quality).

It is interesting to see that a number of the quality dimensions for data (largely) correspond to quality dimensions for thinking (see figure 3). The overlap is mainly in comprehensibility, accuracy and precision. Comprehensibility is the basis and is about the extent to which we understand something. It is the first stage of group processes. If we understand something
<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2: Quality dimensions in ISO/IEC 25012/25024</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>Figure 3: Relationship between thinking quality and data quality</figcaption></figure>
then we can determine whether something is true or not - the correctness of our thinking. Correctness is the degree to which something corresponds to reality. Clearly, this is a key question when it comes to quality of thought. If something is not true, then it is noise (or fake news) and we should just ignore it. If you look at this in a broader sense, then the data quality dimensions of plausibility and traceability are also important. Plausibility is the extent to which the data is credible. Traceability is the extent to which the creation of data has been made explicit. The data quality precision is the extent to which all relevant information for making judgements is present. This is what the data quality dimensions completeness and precision cover.

## The importance of context

A deeper insight into the relationship between quality of thinking and quality of data is that context is all-important. Part of the context is the use of the data. The use of the data determines which quality is sufficient. For example, when performing a detailed analysis, you also need detailed data (with high precision). Context is also everything that you need to understand something. For an automated operation, often only part of this context is relevant, namely the part that is relevant for the operation. As human beings, we often feel the need to better understand what something means. We are interested in exploring our needs and we look for many more nuances than computers. This is also our distinguishing feature and the reason why it will be a long time before we can be replaced by computers.

It is not easy to name all that is relevant for people to understand something properly. It probably involves much of what the creator of the data knew, but which was never made explicit or will never be made explicit [Woudenberg, 2002]. A fundamental question is therefore whether we can be sure that we have understood the data as the creator intended. Part of this kind of context can be made explicit by metadata. Metadata can at least give us a textual explanation of what the creator meant by certain words.
Metadata can also provide insight into another important part of the context: the creation of the data (traceability). If we know who created the data, at what point in time, and what processes it has undergone, we already have a much better understanding of the context. It can increase our confidence in the accuracy of the data.

## An ethical perspective

An increasingly relevant question is to what extent data is fair to others. Whether data treats everyone equally. After all, we live in a world where people have interests. Data are not value-free. They carry the values and norms of the people who created them. It is therefore important to understand what these norms and values were and whether they are acceptable. An ethical perspective is an explicit un-third part of critical thinking as described for example by Elder and Paul [0123]. In addition, there is also increasing attention for ethics in the context of data management. In the Data Management Body of Knowledge, for instance, there is a chapter entirely devoted to data ethics [DAMA, 2017]. Ethics are inherently subjective and will have to be assessed contextually. There are, however, all sorts of practical tools for dealing with ethics, such as the Ethical Data Assistant of the Utrecht Data School and the Ethics Compass of Kennisnet [Pijpers et al., 2020] The essence of this last instrument is that you name the values you consider most important, collect arguments for and against and weigh these on the basis of the values you have named.

## Conclusions

The previous paragraphs have mainly tried to make clear what the challenges are in dealing with an increasing flow of data and information. The key message is that both a higher quality of thinking and a higher quality of data are necessary. These qualities are also directly related; higher data quality also leads to higher thinking quality. For both, context is all-important.
The deeper purpose of this contribution as a whole is above all to
get the reader thinking. It aims to relax organisations and create
space for the crucial human interaction needed to understand each
other, to judge and to decide. Ultimately, data and data exchange
can never replace intersubjective meaning. Communication is not
objective and our brains cannot simply be replaced by automated
decision rules.

* Encourage critical thinking in yourself and in others by asking questions.

* Pay explicit attention to defining and measuring the quality of data.

* Provide data with relevant context so that others can understand and assess them.

Sources

- DAMA International (2017). Data Management Body of Knowlegde, Technics Publications LLC.

- Elder, L. & Paul, R. (2013). *Critical Thinking - Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life*, 2nd edition. New York: Pearson Education.

- Harari, Y.N. (2017). *Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow*. New York: Random House.

- ISO, (2008). ISO/IEC25012 - Software engineering - Software product quality requirements and evaluation (SQuaRE) - Data quality model, first edition.

- Pijpers, R., Bomas, E., Dondorp L. & Ligthart, J. (2020). *Values weighing - An ethical perspective on digitisation in education*. Report: Kennisnet.

- Woudenberg, R. van (2002). *Philosophy of language and text*. Eindhoven: Damon vof.
# It's smart me, for sure!

Wouter Bronsgeest

Earlier I wrote about children and their smartphones, now it's about me. At least, I will let you thinking. Because I am now using a wonderful new piece of software. Or rather, several pieces of software. But let me start at the beginning.

After all, it is a bit busy. Work, education, professional organisation, sometimes giving a guest lecture yourself, and of course the home front. Oh yes, and the gym, the children's sports club, working on a good cause and writing an article or column. I can still manage to keep the mailbox busy, but sometimes I would like to be in two places at once. And I'm starting to do just that. I have an action plan for that!

Firstly, active meditation. Green shakes, yoga, mindfulness and guided meditations help me to de-stress. I can do this with

In particular, I can quietly observe the hurried and agitated fellow man, and sometimes support him with empathy, without identifying myself too much. After all, I have my own problems! Over to step 2.

Secondly, tight time management. Seeing each e-mail only once, instructing secretaries and the company office well, answering very quickly and either carrying out the action myself or getting someone else to do it. And that helps, because others also experience pressure themselves, so I make sure that the action is put on someone else's plate again! It is the race of the mailbox, action points and the smart allocation of your time.

But, even that is not enough. On to step 3.

Thirdly, the use of technology! It still costs a pretty penny, but that will change in the relatively near future. I like to make use of what is generally called *deepfake*. A relatively simple example is the FakeApp, where you can insert a speaking mouth into someone else's face. Just like with the
FaceSwaps, you can make very funny jokes with this on your smart phone. But not too many, otherwise step 1 and step 2 are no longer effective enough.

Fortunately, with a little polish, a good editor and some extra technology, you can do a lot more.

Meanwhile, there are promotional films, lecture notes and messages to colleagues for places where I do not have to be physically present. Through a combination of real recordings supplemented with deepfakes, I soon have more opportunities to get to know my colleagues. opportunities to share information. In fact, I now employ ghostwriters and ghost speakers who tell their 'own' stories based on conversations with me.

count. The software to imitate my voice was already there, so I am everywhere now. What a wonderful - and peaceful - feeling that gives. Working from home, for me the social innovation of this century.

The question is, how do you know whether it is me or not? How do you know this text is from my brain? Well, I don't know anymore myself. But, my goal is achieved for now. You are reading this column. And I am sitting with a cold beer on my yacht worth millions in the Mediterranean Sea, thinking about how I can make the world a better place with even more technology. For you, but especially for me.

## Source

* Previously published online at: AG Connect, https://www.agconnect.nl/blog/its-smart-me-zeker-weten, September 3rd 2018.
# Digital transformation after COVID-19, data centrism as a solution

by Ken van Ierlant

The world is waking up very slowly after the outbreak of COVID-19, to a totally new reality that will accelerate. The economic consequences are not yet foreseeable, but the contours of a drama in the making are becoming more visible every day.

The consequences for the way in which digitisation 1.0 has taken place in the last decades are becoming remarkably and soberingly clear. Companies are faced with a choice: use digitisation as an efficiency tool or opt for digitalisation 4.0 with a disruptive leitmotiv.

If one thing has become clear, it is that the COVID-19 outbreak is rapidly eating away at the balance sheets of companies and government bodies alike. It now suddenly appears that many operating models are far too costly, inflexible and static. Scaling down, let alone scaling up, has turned out to be an impossibility for 90 per cent of the companies.

The digital transformation 1.0 has had its day. For years, the market was bombarded with digital hype aimed at achieving efficiency gains by drawing attention to new business models. This subsequently led to kidnapped IT projects by new
building apps on old legacy systems. Old wine in new bags. The entire digital hipster circuit, including systems integrators and technology providers, has spent years responding to incremental IT transitions that, in 90 percent of cases, have achieved nothing. The era of the false prophets of innovation theatre has left a trail of destruction and value destruction in its wake. The time of careful poldering or a toe in the pond is over. It is now or never.

Balance sheets are now being rapidly emptied, leaving no money for old-style innovation, while innovation is desperately needed for survival. Companies now have a choice: either follow a blue process of implementing drastic cost reductions in which digitalisation is used as an efficiency tool, or opt for digitalisation 4.0 with a disruptive leitmotiv.

## The positive takeaways and the dark side of the moon

The only positive thing about the crisis is that in two months we have learned to work digitally at home. Where we spent years trying to accept online working, it is now arranged in no time. It is amazing how quickly people adapt to a crisis situation and make use of technology that has been around for years. What we are learning is that people are adaptive when there is a sense of urgency. Time and money play an important role in remaining adaptive in a world that is changing rapidly due to emerging technologies and their application. The why-question has now been answered, but the how-question is far from being answered.

In the current crisis, it appears that the essence of digital transformations lies not in the exploitation of business models - through the use of IT tools - but in digital operating models that can be quickly switched off or on, as if it were an accelerator. This is not to say that having a digital business model or strategy is not an important condition. It certainly is. But how many companies have a disruptive digital strategy that looks four to five years ahead? Nine out of ten of all the digital strategies chosen come from the idea of making the exploitation model that is in place 'more fun' with digital gadgets and shiny object,
in order to bring their services to the market in the most
efficient way possible. In short: sub-optimisation. In short: sub-
optimisation.

It is at least as important to understand that in the 2020, post-
COVID-91 era and before the advent of multi-sided platforms,
companies' operating models have to be at least a factor 8 cheaper
in order to survive. Cheating over costs and incrementally sprucing
up old IT landscapes has become an anomaly.

Digital transformation 4.0

What we are learning now is that as the horizon of survival draws
nearer, there is no more time or money for us to just change things
around. What we are also learning is that with those mountains of
application landscapes, with ditto non-authentic processes, no value
can be created. Or as Mr Bommel would say: "Tom Puss, think up a
trick".

The digital transformation is a disruptive process that, in a time
of 'no time and no money', must create a great deal of value, with
the financing to a large extent to be found in the organisation itself.
In other words, recuperating invested capital from the past that is
now stuck in sublimated assets, ditto non-authentic processes and
therefore a lot of hidden unemployment.

In other words, we must rigorously and rapidly seek out tied-up
working capital, dismantle non-authentic processes and liquefy
guaranteed value. A large part of the solution to the problem lies in
the data of the companies. It will often turn out that companies that
are stuck in bank covenants can no longer issue shares, and the
government is unwilling or unable to intervene.

There are still two viable ways out:

* Operation find the money", in which the company will use a digital transformation 4.0 programme to make its own tied-up capital rapidly liquid in order to finance its own transformation,
* or resort to private capital in the form of private equity and venture capitalists to save the day.

But beware, these private equity guys are no softies who are satisfied with loss financing. They want a return on their investments, in the short term and with a certain probability of success. And that calls for entrepreneurship instead of technocratic management that, in the face of certain bankruptcy, asks the commissioners for a pay rise.

## Data centrism as the only way out

Data is the new gold! A beautiful buzzword, but it is of no use if you can't access it. Before you can exploit the value of thirty years of accumulated data, you have to explore it. And that is no mean feat, certainly not if you have hundreds of data sources and data models that are attached to ditto applications that were once written by people who are now in retirement homes.

Before being able to work in a data-centric way, companies must first build up a data-driven mentality and business process, whereby they may no longer think in terms of existing business processes, but in terms of new data-driven business processes that can and must generate a great deal of value in a short space of time. In other words: thinking from the outside in and determining where the company's distinguishing capacity lies on the basis of good scenario and financial planning.

So stop looking at what the competition is doing. Because they are doing exactly what you are doing, which is looking at the competition. This mentality or behavioural change is most easily initiated as soon as the company goes on a voyage of discovery to find out where all its data is located and indexes, categorises, classifies, cleanses and migrates it to a homogeneous next-generation platform that is a factor 8 cheaper in terms of operating costs than the self-built on premise or hybrid platform that costs capital or results in a sky-high OPEX.
In 2017 I wrote an article with the title 'No guts no glory', while 'Now or never' would be much more appropriate. In fact, this clean-up is a blessing in disguise to say goodbye to a lot of dead wood in a Darwinian way.

* After COVID-19, companies' balance sheets have been eaten away and it is time for the digital transformation 4.0 to focus on the operating models rather than the business models.

* Operating model 4.0 is factor 8 more efficient with a C/I ratio of around 25 percent modelled on a data-centric next-generation platform in the cloud.

* Organisations can only operate in a data-driven way if they are organised in a data-rich way.

* The new data-centric operating models 4.0 are able to create exponential value in a short time-to-market at a low cost-to-serve. We call this Digital Intangible Assets (DIA).

## Sources

* Platform Theory, Technology Platforms. Consulted on https://sloanreview.mit.edu/tag/platform-theory/.

* McComb, D. (2016). The Data-Centric Revolution: Data-Centric vs Data-Driven.

* http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/document.cfm?doc_id=48850

Previously published online on AG Connect:

https://www.agconnect.nl/artikel/de-digitale-transformatie-na-covid-19, May 18th, 2020
# Reenvisage

Sicco Maathuis

The world is changing, we notice and know that. Technology influences and accelerates that change. The enormous increase in data, the ever-growing computing power and the ever-increasing connectivity create a world in which people must find their place again.

As human beings, we will have to think more about what is going to happen in the future and decide what we think about it as people and as humanity. I call this re-envisioning. Envisage is to present a mental picture of something that might happen. Re-envisioning means that you also have to revise this mental picture from time to time. You then have to reflect on that mental picture yourself. How am I doing, what do I think about it and where am I going to focus my attention? Everything you give attention to, grows. Whether that is your children or fake news.

Every citizen should - as far as I am concerned - think about whether he or she lives in the world she or he wants. And if not, how can you contribute to creating a world that is one step closer to the one you want? To do this, step out of the delusion of the day. Only then do you take the time to study what that better world might be. Go for a walk in a forest, for example, every quarter or so. Just looking at the pictures of a forest makes a person calmer. Make a conscious choice about what you are going to focus your attention on. Again: everything you give attention to, grows. People know that the world is going to change, but they do not stop to think about what their purpose and contribution is in that world. world than it is. We live too much according to the delusion of everyday life. You see it in government, in citizens and in journalism.

Politicians respond only to get good twitter rates. Popular language is the order of the day. Young people no longer believe the government, because it is almost exclusively testing balloons and talking in hot air.
The government should be busy facilitating the country for a world that is changing ever faster. In journalism, often only one viewpoint or figure is highlighted, the one that attracts attention. People do not think enough about the context of a figure or the other side of a story.

Consequence: people do not know what the purpose and contribution is in their lives. People become over-stimulated by all the information that is poured out on them. Burn-outs and bore-outs are the order of the day.

Algorithms play an important role in this world of increasing data, computing power and connectivity. We can no longer do without them. And although the press speaks fearfully of algorithms, we will never live without them. How do you deal with these algorithms as a human being? How do you trust them? How do you build and train them?

This is where an information professional has an important role to play. You, as an information professional, could think about algorithms. How can you make a better world with them? That can be a purpose for you as an information professional.

## Source

Previously published online at: AG Connect, https://www.agconnect.nl/blog/re-envisage, September 4th 2019
# Beyond science fiction: Data storage in DNA

by Jasper Snoeren

The current generation of digital information carriers will slowly but surely fall out of favour, as they are not durable enough and have limited storage capacity. But storage in DNA is coming. Although the first applications are promising, there are still some obstacles to be overcome.

Internet speeds are constantly increasing, and with them the amount of data being created worldwide. Every cat video, every holiday photo and every shopping list is stored and shared digitally. This has led to one of the greatest challenges in our field. While the need for data storage continues to grow, the storage capacity of digital media will eventually reach its limit. Moreover, these carriers have a limited lifespan: magnetic tape only lasts thirty years, a hard disk can be replaced after ten years. In short, we need a new tool to store data in a more compact and durable way. A solution to this problem appears to have been with us since the beginning of time: DNA.
## Many advantages

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) contains all the hereditary information of an organism. It forms the blueprint for the proteins that regulate all processes in the body. DNA has the convenient property of being able to store enormous amounts of complex information in an extremely small format. As a storage medium for data, it therefore has enormous potential: theoretically, about 215 petabytes can be stored per gram of DNA. That is roughly the entire archive of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in a grain of rice. But not only the format has advantages, it is also extremely sustainable. The DNA from mammoth fossils or from the body of ice mummy Ötzi is still readable. If kept cool and dry, DNA can last for hundreds of thousands of years without loss of data. Moreover, it is energy-efficient: the molecules themselves do not consume any electricity. Also, knowledge about the use of DNA will not disappear as long as the genetic information of humans is stored in it. The techniques for making, processing and deciphering the material will undoubtedly be improved in a hundred years' time, but the information will remain readable as ever.

## Not science fiction

That all sounds rather futuristic. Nevertheless, DNA is no longer science fiction as a storage medium. Major steps have been taken in the last fifteen years: as proof of concept, many books, music and even video clips have already been stored in DNA. For example, researchers from the University of Washington and Microsoft have converted 100 books from Project Gutenberg into DNA, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in all languages. And not to forget the sound recordings on the golden gramophone record that was sent into space in 1977 on Voyager as a message to extraterrestrial life forms. At the moment, researchers are working on capturing the entire English Wikipedia database.
## How does it work?

How exactly does storage in DNA form work? A DNA strand is a polymer composed of a sequence of four *nucleotides*. These are designated by the letters A, T, C and G (or the organic molecules Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine). In principle, it works in the same way as the ones and zeros in a digital bit stream. If we can digitise information, we can also translate it into a nucleotide sequence. This genetic code is then synthesised in a laboratory - the molecules are built. This is artificially created material, no living organism is involved. The strands are stored in a liquid solution and can then be stored and transported relatively easily. Making copies is fast and above all cheap: under the right chemical conditions, DNA copies itself, just as it does in the human body.

## Splitting data

In practice, however, translating a digital code into the right nucleotide sequence is a little more complicated than it first appears. For example, a DNA strand may not be too long, and repeating the same nucleotide too often in succession poses a risk of breakage. To prevent this, one piece of data is split into numerous smaller strands of DNA.

Each string is provided with a so-called primer. This primer serves as a unique identifier for that piece of data and also contains additional metadata, such as the order in which the strings must be placed in order to read the data. Each strand occurs hundreds of times in the DNA mixture and also contains a lot of overlap with the preceding and following piece of bitstream. In this way, genetic data carries its own backups and the chance of reading and copying errors is drastically reduced.
## Obstacles

The technology for storing data in DNA is advancing by leaps and bounds. But to be able to actually use it in practice, various obstacles still have to be overcome. For the most part, it is still a very slow process. It now takes many hours to open a file (in other words: to decipher and digitally represent the nucleotide sequence).

This does not outweigh the microseconds that a flash drive needs for the same task. It is expected that in the future, speeds of up to 100 Gbps will be achieved. Until then, DNA storage is only suitable as a permanent, extremely durable back-up for data that does not need to be consulted constantly. Think, for example, of the knowledge that must not be lost in the event of a major climate disaster or world war. But the most important barrier is the price tag. The costs of decoding and synthesising DNA may be falling rapidly, but it is still a pricey affair. The sums involved in synthesising a few MBs of data can easily run into a few thousand dollars. An archive in the cultural sector does not even dare to dream of this.

Even when writing DNA becomes affordable, the server cabinets will not be put on the street immediately. Transcoding digital to genetic data is one thing, but replacing the current infrastructure in the data centres is another. Commercial suppliers will not just take up the challenge as soon as the technology becomes available outside the scientific world.

## Matter of time

According to estimates published by Nature, the worldwide digital archive will contain so much data in 2040, that storing it on current flash memory sticks will require a hundred times more silicon of microchip quality than is expected to be available on earth. That DNA data storage will provide the solution is fortunately only a matter of time. The Microsoft researchers expect that
at most, it will take a decade before technology is truly ready to
conquer the world. Will the information professional soon be a bio-
chemist too?

▫ The global digital archive in 2040 will contain so much data that storing it will require a hundred times more silicon of microchip quality than is available on earth. Other resources are therefore desperately needed. One promising solution is already with us naturally: DNA.

▫ Data can be stored extremely compactly in DNA. When stored in a cool and dry place, DNA can last for hundreds of thousands of years without loss of data. It is also very energy-efficient: the molecules themselves do not consume any electricity.

▫ There are still some practical obstacles to overcome, but it will not be ten years before data storage in DNA is available on the market.
## Postscript

As a first acquaintance with the technology, Sound and Vision, in cooperation with Twist Bioscience, recently archived the iconic images surrounding the celebrations of the European Football Championship '88 in DNA (see http://pers.beeldengeluid.nl/192662-beeld-en-geluid-saves-iconic-fragment-ek-88-op-in-dna).

## Sources

* Bornholt, J., Lopez, R., Carmean, D., Ceze, L., Seelig, G. & Strauss, K. (2016).

* ASPLOS 2016, International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems. Published by ACM, Association for Computing Machinery.

* Extance, A. (2016). How DNA could store all the world's data. Nature. Consulted on https://www.nature.com/news/how-dna-could-store-all-the-world-s-data-1.20496.

* Kolata, G. (2017). Who Needs Hard Drives? Scientists Store Film Clip in DNA. New York Times. Consulted on https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/12/science/film-clip-stored-in-dna.html.

* Milenkovic, O., Gabrys, R., Kiah, H.M. & Hossein Tabatabaei Yazdi, S.M. (2018). Exabytes in a Test Tube: The Case for DNA Data Storage. IEEE Spectrum, IEEE. Consulted on https://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductorsdevices/exabytes-in-a-test-tube-the-case-for-dna-data-storage.

* Monaghan, P. (2019). A solution for all digital storage woes? Moving Image Archives News. Consulted on http://www.movingimagearchivenews.org/a-solution-for-all-data-storage-woes/.

* Rosenthal, R. (2018). DNA's niche in the storage market. Consulted on https://blog.dshr.org/2018/02/dnas-niche-in-storage-market.html.

* Yong, E. (2017). Scientists Can Use CRISPR to Store Images and Movies in Bacteria. The Atlantic. Consulted on https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/07/scientists-can-use-crispr-to-store-images-and-movies-in-bacteria/533400/.

Previously published in: IP – vakblad voor informatieprofessionals, nr. 7/2019.

See also:

https://informatieprofessional.nl/resources/uploads/2919/10/IP2019_07-1eDeel.pdf
# An app will soon allow us to turn a book into an audiobook

by Ronald de Nijs

"My whole working life I have been occupied with subjects on the cutting edge of search technology and content management," says Jan Willem van Wessel. Everything now comes together in his position at the Royal Library. Here he started work as the head of the Processing and Preservation sector eighteen months ago. Jan Willem studied alpha-informatics: "Now we call it natural language processing."

The issues he deals with at the KB are contained in his job title: processing and preservation. What does that entail? "Preservation concerns the preservation of all physical and digital collections. Processing concerns scanning, digitising and making available online books, newspapers and periodicals. Take for example our flagship Delpher, the website where millions of historical publications have been made full-text searchable."

Digital processes are increasingly coming into play, especially in the processing. Artificial intelligence, for example, is used in scanning and oscillating medieval manuscripts. In order to
improve ocr'ing, the system is being trained, says Jan Willem.
"Artificial intelligence will therefore play an increasingly important
role in the work of the KB."

## Audiobook collection

Artificial intelligence is a broad concept, according to Jan Willem.
It includes self-driving cars and robotics. But in libraries, these are
not hot issues. That is why he prefers to talk about machine
learning or natural language processing as angles for artificial
intelligence in the library world. "With machine learning, you can
think of the automatic metadata description of texts, the
assignment of classifications, and so on. And that is where you
immediately get the overlap with natural language processing, such
as the automatic summarising of texts."

According to him, machine learning and natural language
processing can cover many functional areas. "Think of the
automatic naming of the style of a text: is something, for example,
children's literature?" Another example is Amazon's
recommendation "This book is also interesting for you". The library
world could also do something with this, Jan Willem thinks. At the
same time, so many other applications are possible. "We have been
able to convert texts to spoken text for some time now. At the
moment it sounds like nothing, but with advancing technology the
intonation is getting better and better. I expect that we will soon be
able to use an app to convert a book collection into an audiobook
collection in one go. These are exciting times!

## Breeze in library world

According to Jan Willem, libraries have only just begun to use
artificial intelligence. He prefers to speak of "a breeze that is
beginning to blow in the library sector". Artificial intelligence will
play an important role in four different areas. Take, for example,
the library's services. "Although one can find already many
applications of AI in advanced search technologies."
Furthermore, it affects the working methods of the library,
including, for example, the previously mentioned classic library
task of metadata. Artificial intelligence also changes the social role
of the library. As an example Jan Willem mentions services aimed
at the digitally illiterate: the group for whom it is difficult to gain
access to digital information. And finally, the library itself can also
contribute to the use of artificial intelligence, although this requires
major investments. However, this requires large investments. That
is why, according to him, libraries will work together more and
more.

Examples

Ask Jan Willem about appealing examples and a flood ensues. He
found the publication that Springer Nature presented in April 2019
to be impressive: a fully automatically generated scientific
handbook on batteries (Lithium-Ion Batteries, Beta Writer). The
documents were selected with artificial intelligence from some
50,000 scientific articles in the fields of physics and chemistry. An
automatic analysis was then carried out to choose the right
contributions, to make a logical connection in the bundle and to
ensure that there was no duplication. "It is the first time that a
publisher has produced a book in such a way. A library could also
search for information in this way. "

Or take IBM's Debater project. A supercomputer, fed with tens
of thousands of articles, is able to give arguments in a debate, to
answer critical questions and to ask questions itself. "This is the
holy grail in natural language processing, because it is so difficult
to realise. The example is not directly applicable in the library
world, but imagine that instead of information, we would soon be
able to provide ready-made answers to our customers' questions."
## Black box

All these developments in artificial intelligence are wonderful, but what about the ethical side of it? Jan Willem sees a few serious areas of concern. Transparency, for example. "Many artificial intelligence systems are a black box: you put something in and something comes out without knowing how the system reached its decision. And people start working with this output, whether or not indiscriminately. Or take precautions. If you train a system with pictures of men, the system will 'think' that there are only men. If you use such a system for a job application procedure, it will more often produce a man than a woman. The system is therefore wrongly trained. I would argue that, for the time being, humans should be the last link in artificial intelligence systems that make decisions."

## Principles

To demonstrate that it will properly deploy artificial intelligence, the KB has drawn up a list of seven principles. It is a promise that the KB is making to its users. And to take away concerns from them. "There's a reason why the first principle is that you should use artificial intelligence to increase the availability of information. So we start with something positive. But at the same time we have to be careful not to reinforce the negative effects of artificial intelligence, such as bias."

The KB is not the only one to come up with such a list, Jan Willem has noticed. "The European Union has drawn up a set of principles, but so has the business world and big-tech companies such as Google and Facebook. Although the latter are viewed with some scepticism."

Jan Willem has submitted this list to the National Library of Norway and Stanford University Libraries. "They are setting up an inter-national working group to investigate the use of artificial intelligence in libraries. They think the principles are a good initiative and perhaps the list will be supplemented with their input." "But," hurries
Jan Willem says, "The list should not become a thing in itself. Let's develop beautiful things with artificial intelligence."

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role
in the work of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek.

Soon, an app will be able to convert a book collection into a
listening book collection in one go.

To show that it will use artificial intelligence in the right way,
the Royal Library has drawn up a list of seven principles.

Source

This contribution is from the Smart Humanity special 2019, accompanying the
journal IP nr. 7/2019. See also:

https://informatieprofessional.nl/resources/uploads/2019/10/ special-smart-humanity-2019.pdf
5
Smart
Ethics
The word (and theme) *ethics* runs through this book. So now we are really going to draw attention to it. In the professional organisation and in the social debate, the discussion about ethics is becoming increasingly frequent. And rightly so, because the discussion of ethics keeps us sharp and aware of what we are doing. In our profession, in our lives and in society.

Big words, but in the context of the following contributions also justified. After all, the conversation should be held every day in a society where the 'clock speed' seems to be increasing rather than decreasing. The conversation about ethics produces reflections, but in this section it is visible that these reflections also lead to follow-up steps and actions. Applications even, including guiding design choices. Ethics is therefore not only about abstractions but also (and perhaps especially) about applications.
# The public sphere

by Henrietta Joosten

Information professionals not only tackle social problems, with their work they increasingly determine how we can and should live together. The (envisaged) corona app is the ultimate example of this.

Increasingly, the work of information professionals - whether they work in the private sector or in (semi-)government - is intertwined with political issues, i.e. issues about how we live together. Their work concerns us all. But because of the way we use technology, the public sphere is under increasing pressure in the 21st century. There is less and less room to work together - professionals, citizens and governments - and speak on an equal footing about the use of technology. It is high time for information professionals to use their potential to stimulate the public sphere. After all, a free society does not come about and persist on its own.

## Information professionals have impact with their work

Whose safety comes first: that of children playing outside or that of the occupants of a self-driving car? Who is on the list of potential fraudsters? What information do we get to see through search engines? To what extent can so-called low-literate fellow citizens find their way in our society? Research by Bommelje and Keur [2013] shows that about a quarter (!) of the citizens will not and cannot become digitally literate.
Is a corona app primarily a tool for the government to defuse the corona crisis or is it a tool that enables citizens to take better care of themselves and each other? Through their work, information professionals provide answers to these questions and increasingly determine the shape of our society.

## Technology is more than a neutral tool

Technology and mankind are becoming increasingly intertwined; they influence each other mutually. You can compare it to the presence of the coronavirus: the mere existence of the virus suddenly makes us - whether we want to or not - see each other as potential sources of infection. The same happens with technology. The presence of cameras makes you behave differently, whether they are on or not. The emergence of ever smarter (swarms of) robots makes us think about how we (want to) live together with them. The use of algorithms in the insurance industry has made us think very differently about solidarity. Technology is changing the way we think about ourselves and the world, how we treat each other and what we consider important.

## Broad impact requires public responsibility

The broad impact of the work of information professionals on society goes hand in hand with a certain public responsibility. And that is not because ethics, politicians, interest groups or other parties impose it on information professionals from outside. It is inherent in their work; they are deeply involved in shaping society. This moral responsibility is being recognised more and more. It is no coincidence that Smart Humanity has been an important theme within the KNVI for a number of years. And even if you regard the protection of private, economic interests - within the limits of the law - as the only real mission of companies, companies had better recognise this impact and deal with it responsibly. When you
close your eyes to the social impact of your business activities, in
the long run it will make your own activities more difficult, wrote
the first professor of business ethics in Europe, Henk van Luijk
[1993], already in the last millennium.

Information professionals representing public interests

This public responsibility is often put into practice by serving the
general interest - through your expertise you contribute to the
realisation of 'the good' for society. Information professionals create
technological tours de force to solve the climate crisis, the shortage
of staff in the care sector or the educational disadvantages of
schoolchildren. But however good everyone's intentions may be, it
is not up to information professionals to decide on their own what is
desirable for society. These are issues that concern everyone; they
belong in the public sphere.

Stimulating the public sphere

Information professionals can fulfil this public responsibility (mainly) by stimulating the public conversation about the kind of world we are creating. This is therefore not about promoting public interests. It is about stimulating the public conversation about public interests. The world we are shaping with IT, is that also the world we want to live in together? In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the input of citizens in the design of technology. During Smart Humanity, for example, various2019 sessions were organised around the question of how to involve citizens and representatives of various stakeholder groups in the decision-making process. This is a good development. Also, tech companies are increasingly using methods to map and evaluate the ethical risks of new technologies, products and systems - often referred to as 'ethical foresight analysis' [Floridi & Strait, 2020]. But in the context of stimulating the public sphere, these developments do not go far enough. The question is how we can
use technology to shape a free society: a society where citizens can constantly - and not just in the preliminary stages or at the invitation of a tech company - question the design of society and where they can constantly appear on the public stage with their own answers.

## Why is attention to the public sphere important (now)?

Robotics, nanotechnology, medical information science, hyper-automation and digital twins are just a few examples of technological trends that are already helping to shape our society. The boundaries between the physical, digital and biological domains of life are rapidly disappearing. In 20 years, our society will look very different. The importance of the public sphere will only increase.

But while the impact of technology continues to grow, the conditions for the public conversation are diminishing because of the way we use that same technology. The way we use technology is making the public conversation increasingly difficult. We are becoming more and more accustomed to a world that is adapted to our personal preferences and history. When it comes to the possibility of personalised cancer medication, this development is fantastic. But a one-sided emphasis on the personal slowly but surely makes us lose sight of the shared world - the world we all share. And that is precisely what the public sphere is all about. Online environments also lure us into spheres where like-mindedness prevails. Speaking together about how we want to live together requires the ability to listen to each other, even if the other person has very different values. A firm belief in the possibilities of technology - think of nudging - is not helpful either. Before you know it, complex social issues will be reduced to technological ones, which we are happy to leave to experts. Citizens' input is then unnecessary; in fact, it is undesirable. The fact that tech companies are becoming ever larger and more powerful is also not conducive to the public sphere. The public sphere, traditionally the haven for democratic consultation, is under pressure at the beginning of the 21st century.
**Action perspective 1:**
**speak on the public stage themselves**

We cannot stop technological developments, but we are not completely at their mercy. We can influence how we shape our society and we can always make room for public reflection on the question of what kind of world we are creating with the deployment of technology. In this way, information professionals, decision-makers and policy-makers have the opportunity to take part in the public conversation themselves. Instead of going along with the issues of the day, you speak out and thus give the public conversation a boost. For a moment, you are not putting your own interests or the interests of your supporters first, but the common interest. You can do this as an individual. But you can also organise this in a larger context. The public dialogue is a helpful method. This method was elaborated on the basis of five practical cases from the intensive livestock sector in North Brabant [Boers, Brunt, Evers & Van der Werff, 2016]. The authors describe what happens when entrepreneurs, nature organisations, citizens and government enter into discussion about public issues such as health, nature and the environment. This method is also appropriate when the discussions focus on the organization of society by means of technology.

**Action perspective 2:**
**designing for the public sphere**

A second area in which information professionals can contribute to enhancing the public sphere is closer to their expertise: design, but with an eye on the public sphere. Now the public sphere itself is not an artefact. It is not 'something' that you create once and then it is there for the long haul. It is rather a quality of human interaction. This sphere or space of appearance is created when people speak and act in public. When they separate again, this sphere of freedom no longer exists. When you design for the public sphere, you create orders that stimulate the public sphere. An example of such a design principle is 'data in cooperative hands'. With many apps and platforms, the data is in the hands of the providers.
This is also the case with the popular and free-to-use online
neighbourhood marketplace Nextdoor. This commercial Silicon
Valley start-up earns big money from data about neighbourhood
residents [Van Dijck, Poell & De Waal, 2016]. In the municipality of
Helmond, they want to approach things differently. In a smart
neighbourhood that has yet to be built, the plan is to let the
residents profit from their data. The money that is made from data
goes to the person who produces the data and makes it available
[Van Wijnen, 2019]. But what if, in Helmond, you apply the design
principle 'data in cooperative hands'? The district as a whole then
manages the data. Neighbourhood residents determine together
what they do with the data (and the money that they can earn with
it). By organising the district differently, you invite a discussion
about shared interests - instead of your own. To achieve this, you
need a very different technical infrastructure than is often used.
More design principles are conceivable: 'actively open up',
'incorporate private and public values in the design' or ' invite the
exploration of diverse perspectives on the world'. In the book The
Public Sphere in the 21st Century: Hannah Arendt as a Guide for
Professionals, many more 'public sphere' design principles are
described and amply illustrated with examples [Joosten, 2019].

Focusing on partnerships

Designing for the public sphere means above all designing the world
in such a way that the public conversation about the common world
is stimulated. In this context, Professor of Philosophy of Man and
Technology Verbeek speaks of a new interpretation of politics and
democracy [Verbeek, 2019]. This is a major public task. You have
influence as an individual owner, designer, builder or manager, but
together you are stronger. The development of (temporary)
cooperative ventures is obvious. But it is also a new task. Looking
at the work of information professionals through the prism of the
public sphere is not a self-evident perspective. Training is
necessary. Expansion of the curricula of both IT training courses
(with more attention for the public sphere) and management
training courses (with more attention for the impact of IT) is a
good start. In addition, one can think of a supplement to the
competency frameworks with the value "public sphere central" or
the development of a "Pro public sphere" manifesto for (and from)
information professionals. A professional organisation such as the
KNVI is a good platform for putting these matters on the agenda
and initiating them. This is desperately needed in these times of
turbulent technological developments: after all, a free society does
not come into being and does not automatically continue to exist.

* Technology makes some ways of living together impossible and imposes others.

* In a free society, anyone can have a say in how society is structured, but the way we use technology makes public conversation increasingly difficult.

* It is high time for information professionals to use their experience and expertise to stimulate the public sphere.

Sources

* Boers, E., Brunt, D., Evers, S. & Van der Werff, S. (red.) (2016). *Publieke bezinning: Socratische dialogen over maatschappelijke vraagstukken*. Leusden: ISVW Uitgevers.

* Bommeljé, Y. & Keur, P.-A. (2013). *De burger kan het niet alleen. Digitale dienst- verlening die past bij digitale vaardigheden van burgers*. Den Haag: Sdu Uitgevers.

* Dijck, J. van, Poell, T. & De Waal, M. (2016). *De Platformsamenleving: Strijd om publieke waarden in een online wereld*. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

* Joosten, H. (2019). *De publieke sfeer in de 21e eeuw*. Hannah Arendt als gids voor professionals. Leusden: ISVW Uitgevers.

* Floridi, L. & Strait, A. (2020). *Ethical Foresight Analysis: What is it and why it is needed?* Mind and Machines, 30, p. 77-97.

* Luijk, H. van (1993). *Om redelijk gewin. Oefeningen in bedrijfsethiek*. Amsterdam: Boom.

* Verbeek, P.P. (2019). Ontwerpen voor de Publieke Ruimte. Voorwoord bij Henriëtta Joosten, *De publieke sfeer in de 21e eeuw*. Leusden: ISVW Uitgevers, p. 7-9.

* Wijnen, J. F. van (2019, 16 maart). Gratis wonen. Als je mee laat kijken in je bed. *Het Financieele Dagblad*, p. 2-5..
# An invitation to run along

Vincent Janssen in conversation with Maxim Februari

> In 2008, Maxim Februari wrote one of his first columns for the NRC: a piece on the future of warfare. But his voice was not heard. "If only I had shouted louder."

"We are now so far advanced with automated weapons that we urgently need to start talking about ethics," says Maxim Februari. According to the philosopher and writer, we are actually already too late.

## Lack

February is convinced that there is still a lack of discussion about ethics in today's society. Especially in the information domain. But this is not so much down to information professionals: "The problem lies with society - it does not concern itself with it enough. A

For example, IT personnel should not have to take a course in ethics, but society should express its expectations more towards the information sector." The conversation between information professionals and society must, according to February to start: "We're really late".

## Butterfly net

One of the topics the philosopher discusses is our attitude towards data. Data does not exist: "People think that data is a natural phenomenon, that you can catch it with a butterfly net or pluck it from somewhere. But data are products we make ourselves." If we look at it this way, Februari believes, you also learn other things from those data. They are not neutral, hard data: "You make data, so you put a philosophy of life in it in. Dates are therefore morally charged. I am trying to make that clear, to create awareness of how we data."
## Moral issues

February also often clarifies his philosophical views with topical examples in his books, articles and columns, and when he gives lectures, such as at the Smart Humanity event of the KNVI in 2018. With this view of the future, February wants to avoid "that we will be kicking ourselves in the head in ten years' time when things go wrong". For-

Picture the challenges in tax law: "The future of law will take place in machines, not in law books," says February.

The importance of ethics and philosophy in the information and technology sector is gradually growing. February therefore hopes for renewed heyday for philosophers.

## Source

* Adaptation of an article previously published online in IP.
  See also: https://smarthumanity2018.knvi.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/IP-special-Smart-Humanity-2018.pdf
# Ethical matrix: balancing with values from design to use

by Marlies van Steenbergen

The realisation that technology is not neutral and that every design, including digital innovations, implicitly contains certain values, is gaining ground. Clients and designers translate, consciously or unconsciously, their personal standards into specific design choices.

The ethical matrix is a tool to make this process explicit. It structures in a simple way the possible impact of design choices on the various values of the different stakeholders. The great advantage of this method of structuring is that it makes the ethical considerations in specific design choices traceable and also offers the possibility of testing, when a new digital innovation is in use, whether the intended effect on various values actually works out that way.

## Technology is not neutral

Nice idea, until it became a monster' is the headline of an article in the Volkskrant [Volkskrant, Augut 10th, 2019]. The article cites various examples of people with regrets: a co-founder of Facebook, the inventor of the retweet and the inventor of Internetforum 8chan
all come to the conclusion afterwards that they have created a
monster. That was not their intention.

Technology is not neutral. Every design has moral consequences. Sometimes consciously, often unconsciously [Van den Hoven, 2017; Schep, 2016]. Whether it concerns an automatic entrance door (a revolving door is easier to keep out undesirable people than a sliding door, but also excludes wheelchair users) or a digital service (a cookie wall with a default setting allowing only the necessary cookies is more respectful of customer privacy than a default setting allowing everything), there are always certain actions that are easier to perform and others that require a lot of effort or are impossible. With a gun, you can't do much more than shoot bullets. But often it is more subtle and a technology is used in a way its creator did not foresee. Is this unavoidable? Or should the creator have been more careful?

## Moral considerations in design

If technology is by definition not neutral, it is the duty of a designer
of technological innovations to make moral considerations during
the design process. A designer with good intentions will not only
bring in his own standards and values, but will also take into
account the interests of others, such as the intended users or other
interested parties. What makes it difficult is that not everyone has
the same interests and that what is beneficial from one perspective
may be detrimental from another, equally legitimate, perspective.

Ben Mepham's ethical matrix [Mepham, 2000; Mepham et al.,
2006] helps to make design choices morally transparent, traceable
and verifiable. The ethical matrix originated in the food industry. It
was developed by Ben Mepham as an instrument to support the
ethical evaluation of biotechnological innovations. In its original
form the ethical matrix is a 3×4 matrix. The columns contain three
ethical principles, based on the principle of the
three important ethical currents: autonomy (deontology), welfare (utilitarianism) and justice (Rawls' distributive justice). The rows represent the parties affected by the biotechnological innovation: producers, consumers, animals and the environment. When a biotechnological innovation is considered, the ethical matrix is used to discuss the impact of the innovation with respect to each of the principles on each of the stakeholders and to indicate this in the cells of the matrix. Ben Mepham's ethical matrix has been applied in various fields in recent years [Kermisch & Depaus, 2018; Schroeder & Palmer, 2003; Vinnari et al., 2017].

The ethical matrix is, with some adaptations, also very useful outside the food industry and can also be used in a broader sense than just for evaluating technological innovations [Van der Stappen & Van Steenbergen, 2020]. Two examples of the use of the matrix that illustrate the diversity of possibilities are the development of an app to support students in practical education, and the inventory of the possible consequences of online proctoring.

## Ethical choices in a student app

The first example, the student app, shows how the matrix can be used throughout the design and development process. The aim was to design an app for students who, under the supervision of a lecturer, would carry out preventive health checks on citizens by means of questions and simple tests, and on that basis give lifestyle advice (https://husite.nl/huklinieken/klinieken-on-location/). This could include advice on nutrition, exercise and the purchase of spectacles. Examples of stakeholders in this case are the student, the teacher and the citizen. But also the municipality. Examples of values at stake are transparency, autonomy and safety. In this project, we applied the matrix at different levels. First of all, we drew up a matrix for the basic idea of the app. In the cells we indicated which design choices could influence the values of those involved (figure 1). Grey is a positive impact, dark grey is negative and light grey can still go either way.
<table><caption>Figure 1: Main design choices and their IMPACT on stakeholder values</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>Transparency</th><th>Privacy</th><th>Health</th><th>Responsibility</th><th>Safety</th><th>Autonomy</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="3">Burger</td><td>ICF<br>classification<br>functioning<br>Route aut.</td><td>ICF<br>classification<br>operation<br>Personal card</td><td>ICF<br>classification<br>functioning<br>Route aut.</td><td></td><td>Route aut.</td><td>Route aut.</td></tr><tr><td>Automatically<br>generated<br>advice</td><td>Collective<br>feedback</td><td>Automatically<br>generated<br>advice</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>Collective<br>feedback</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Student</td><td>ICF<br>classification<br>functioning</td><td></td><td></td><td>Route aut.</td><td>Route aut.</td><td>Route aut.</td></tr><tr><td>Automaticall<br>y generated<br>advice</td><td></td><td></td><td>Automaticall<br>y generated<br>advice</td><td>Automaticall<br>y generated<br>advice</td><td>Automaticall<br>y generated<br>advice</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Teacher/Res<br>earcher</td><td>ICF<br>classification<br>functioning</td><td></td><td>ICF<br>classification<br>functioning</td><td>ICF<br>classification<br>functioning</td><td>Automaticall<br>y generated<br>advice</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Automaticall<br>y generated<br>advice</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

The matrix shows that the extent to which the app would support the student by automatically generating an advice can have a major impact. It can severely limit the student's autonomy and make transparency more difficult, both for the student and the citizen. It has advantages for the teacher, because it can reduce the chance that the student makes mistakes. In order to elaborate and investigate this further, we worked out a number of design alternatives and filled out a matrix for each alternative. Figure 2 shows part of the matrix for the design alternative where the advice is formulated entirely by the student, without support from the app. The figure shows the teachers' considerations of this design alternative.
<table><caption>Figure 2: Impact of the alternative where the student draws up an advice without the help of the app</caption><thead><tr><th></th><th>Transparency</th><th>Privacy</th><th>Health</th><th>Responsibility</th><th>Safety</th><th>Autonomy</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>Burger</th><td>Realisation is less transparent</td><td></td><td>Is the advice correct?</td><td></td><td>Safety is under pressure when student is in doubt a lot</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Student</th><td></td><td></td><td>Student has a great deal of responsibility; he is not yet a professional, so he can do this individually (without help or guidance).</td><td></td><td>Can give uncertainty about the correctness of their own advice</td><td>Great autonomy for student, can formulate his or her own ideas</td></tr><tr><th>Teacher/Researcher</th><td>Not transparent how</td><td></td><td></td><td>Quality assurance is difficult, requires a lot of monitoring</td><td>How do I check the student? Do I see everything?</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

It is clear that letting the student determine the advice completely has its disadvantages. But it is especially positive for the autonomy of the student. On the basis of this matrix, however, it can be concluded that it is probably not the best solution. In a similar way, all design issues can be considered in terms of their impact on the various stakeholders. We are not there yet, but the idea is to use the matrix when the app is actually in use, to test whether the intended impact is also present in practice. This may lead to adjustments of the app. In this way, a series of matrices is created that together show why certain choices were made and enable transparency with regard to moral considerations.

## Ethical choices in online proctoring

The second example, online proctoring, shows how the matrix can be used to create awareness and initiate a discussion on values among those involved in the implementation of off-the-
shelf software. Due to the corona crisis, many institutes of higher
education have switched to remote proctoring of examinations. The
usual invigilator is replaced by software, the so-called *online
proctoring software*. By analysing camera images and test results,
this software checks whether students are making use of cheat
sheets, the Internet or help from housemates while taking the exam
at home. At two higher education institutions, we held an online
session in which lecturers, examiners, examination committees, IT
and students together filled in an ethical matrix. Together, we
looked at what online proctoring means for the autonomy, welfare,
reputation, equality of rights and privacy of those involved. This
resulted in concrete recommendations regarding the use of
proctoring software. A simple but important example is the
requirement that cookies that have to be installed in order for the
software to work are automatically deleted after the examination,
or, if this is not possible, that the student is given explicit
instructions afterwards about how to delete the cookies again.

Using the Ethical Matrix

To create an ethical matrix, the following steps are taken:

* Briefly describe the technological innovation you want to design.

* Identify the key stakeholders of this innovation, put them on the y-axis.

* Identify the most relevant values in relation to this innovation and these stakeholders and place them on the x-axis. Values can be identified by thinking about the potential benefits and harms that the innovation can cause to the various stakeholders and then considering what values lie beneath.

* Determine the potential impact of the innovation on stakeholders in relation to the values. Write this in the cells. Not every cell needs to be filled, there is no need for every stakeholder to have an impact on all the values identified.
Step 4 can be performed several times with different scopes, for example for the overall innovation and for different detailed design alternatives. Once a matrix has been filled in, it can be analysed and translated into concrete design criteria. The challenge will mainly lie in the tensions that can arise between values. For example, between safety and autonomy.

## Finally

The ethical matrix is a simple instrument. But in practice it proves to be very powerful in structuring conversations about stakeholder values. The strength of the matrix lies in the fact that all stakeholders and all values are included in one model. This encourages a holistic perspective on all the different ethical issues and makes ethical dilemmas visible. It prevents a focus purely on privacy and a focus on only one or two groups of stakeholders. If the matrix is completed in an interactive session with the various stakeholder groups, it also leads to greater understanding of each other's perspective. And solutions can be creatively sought. Experience shows that the use of the matrix leads to other considerations and other design choices.

1. Technology is not neutral.

2. The ethical matrix makes ethical considerations traceable and verifiable.
Sources

* Hoven, J. van den (2017). Ethics for the digital age: Where are the moral specs?. *Informatics in the Future*, p. 65-76. Springer, Cham.

* Kermisch, C. & Depaus, C. (2018). The Strength of Ethical Matrixes as a Tool for Normative Analysis Related to Technological Choices: The Case of Geological Disposal for Radioactive Waste. *Science and Engineering Ethics*, 24(1), p. 29-48. Consulted on https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-017-9882-6.

* Mepham, B. (2000). A framework for the ethical analysis of novel foods: The ethical matrix. *Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics*, 12(2), p. 165-176. Consulted on https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009542714497.

* Mepham, B., Kaiser, M., Thortensen, E., Tomkins, S. & Millar, K. (2006). Ethical Matrix Manual. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology.

* Schep, T. (2016). *Design my Privacy*. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers.

* Schroeder, D. & Palmer, C. (2003). Technology assessment and the 'ethical matrix'. Poiesis & Praxis, 1(4), p. 295-307. Consulted on https://doi.org/10.1007/s10202-003-0027-4.

* Stappen, E. van der & Steenbergen, M. van (2020). The Ethical Matrix in Digital Innovation Projects in Higher Education. Proceedings of 33rd Bled eConference.

* Vinnari, M., Vinnari, E. & Kupsala, S. (2017). Sustainability Matrix: Interest Groups and Ethical Theories as the Basis of Decision-Making. *Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics*, 30(3), p. 349-366. Consulted on https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-017-9670-y.

* Volkskrant (2019). Consulted on https://krant.volkskrant.nl/titles/volkskrant/7929/publications/715/pages/2, Augustust 10th, 2019.
# Suzan Verberne and the new search for information professionals

Ronald de Nijs

What are the wishes of professionals whose core task is to search for information? To find out, Suzan Verberne, researcher and lecturer at Leiden University, conducted a survey. Her aim: to outline a plan for scientific research into improving search systems.

"My own research and that of my PhD students is about finding or unlocking information in specific domains. This often concerns the work of knowledge workers, such as journalists, scientists, lawyers and archaeologists," says Suzan Verberne, who works at the Informatics Institute (LIACS) of Leiden University. Her expertise is text mining, but she is also very interested in the human

side: how people search for information, especially for their work. "People answering complex questions at work often need a number of queries in a row, and specialist search ma-chines like PubMed and Google Scholar."

## Restrictions

Her field, information retrieval, falls under computer science. "Our research is not very social science in nature, but focuses mainly on optimising results for simple search queries. Take, for example, the question of whether a restaurant is geo- pendent. In my field, it's all about the position where the right answer is found. But if you are looking for work-related information in specific domains, then googling no longer works. You then want to be able to formulate in a more specific way where You are looking for, but you can also build on existing knowledge and on previous search queries. In short, our research is now somewhat limited."
## Survey

"We should pay more attention to work-related information searching in the research field," says Verberne. That is why she decided to organise a work shop on this issue for international colleagues last summer. The input of the professionals themselves was indispensable. She wanted to find out by means of an international survey. Although the survey was distributed among knowledge workers in all sorts of bodies, it turned out that it was mainly filled out by information specialists. "The most common profession was librarian".

## Outcomes

One striking result is that users prefer a more integrated professional search environment. Also noteworthy: the examples given show that there are very precise search queries that need to be answered.

At the same time, the search does not always have to be so complex. "At the same time, searches don't always have to be so complex; people also often look something up quickly. What also surprised her was that almost all professionals, regardless of their area of expertise, have the same wishes when it comes to improving search engines.

## How to proceed

"In our field of work, there is a great need to involve users in research. By this I mean that we ask users what exactly they want and whether they are satisfied. We also want to observe people while they are searching, in order to learn about their behaviour." Together with her colleagues, Verberne is now drawing up a roadmap for the design of new research. The input of information professionals is still welcome.

## Source

Adaptation of an article previously published online in IP.

See also: https://smarthumanity2018.knvi.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/IP-special-Smart-Humanity-2018.pdf
# Value Sensitive Design: digital innovations that do justice to personal values

by Marlies van Steenbergen

The expectation of the organisers of the appathon on April 18th and 19th, 2020 about a tracking and tracing app to prevent the spread of the coronavirus was a little too optimistic.

The idea was that the appathon, which could be followed live by all Dutch citizens, would transparently determine, with input from all relevant experts, what would be a good solution to support contact investigation by the GGD. Things turned out differently. The appathon led to great commotion. And instead of the hoped-for smooth introduction of an app within a few weeks, there was a radio silence and no mention of an app for weeks. Except for the small announcement that reliable parties were working on an app.

## Success of digital innovations?

It is becoming increasingly clear that success or failure is partly determined by the degree to which a digital innovation takes account of social and personal values. Insufficient respect for values regularly leads to social unrest, for example when privacy is at stake. Clear examples are the 'corona app' mentioned above and the Anti-Terrorism Act. In the case of these and other examples
the discussion is about an exchange of values: give up some of your
privacy for the good of all, give up some of your privacy for the safety
of all. This trade-off has penetrated so deeply that a law has been
created to protect our privacy. But it is not just about giving up
privacy. There is more at stake. For example, it is important to
remotely check the examinations of students in higher education, so
that their studies are not delayed. Fortunately, there is intelligent
software that can detect deviations in the taking of online exams on
the basis of camera images and the monitoring of the laptop.
Privacy is clearly an issue here. But what about possible reputation
damage and equal opportunities? In times of crisis, such as the
corona crisis, everyone turns to digital solutions. Especially then, it
is important to think carefully about the impact of those solutions.
Not only in times of crisis, but also for digital solutions that seem
less radical, it is important to explicitly include the values of
potential stakeholders in the design. *Value Sensitive Design* (VSD)
offers a way of doing this. This contribution describes how
information professionals can use VSD to achieve better designs
and implementations.

Value Sensitive Design as a design approach

By now, designers are used to looking not only at functional
requirements, but also at non-functionals such as robustness, ease
of use and reliability in their design. Less obvious is, in addition to
these two perspectives, "What should the design do?" and "What
should the quality of the design be?", to include a third perspective:
"What does the design mean for the citizen and society? And I'm not
talking about the broad social discussion about whether AI is going
to take over and whether robotisation will lead to unemployment,
however important it is to have this discussion. But it is not the only
discussion. What I am talking about here is the smaller, but no less
important, story of the impact of an individual digital service.
Value Sensitive Design (VSD) is a design approach that adds the value perspective to the design process, introduced at the beginning of this century by Batya Friedman [Friedman & Kahn, 2003]. Friedman [2006] provides a good introduction to the approach. VSD defines human value as 'what is important to people in their lives, with a focus on ethics and morality' [Friedman & Hendry 201 9]. The use of a technological artefact can realise and impede values. Therefore values must be considered throughout the design process. VSD places great emphasis on the fact that not only the values of direct stakeholders, such as the users of a digital innovation, should be considered, but also the values of indirect stakeholders who may be indirectly affected by the innovation. These may include future generations or people who cannot or do not want to use a service. The values of these stakeholders, as well as possible tensions between them, are iteratively examined from a conceptual, empirical and technical perspective and translated into design choices.

## VSD at conceptual level

On a conceptual level, the relevant stakeholders and values are identified and defined based on literature and expert knowledge. In the tracking and tracing app, the citizen who uses the app, the government and the GGD are the direct stakeholders. Examples of indirect stakeholders are the healthcare professional, the citizen who does not have the app, the entrepreneur in for example the hospitality industry or gym and the employee. Values that come into play with this app include livelihood security (of entrepreneurs and employees), privacy (of citizens), well-being (of healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, citizens) and autonomy (of citizens). By searching the scientific literature for publications on disease control and tracking mechanisms, and talking to experts in the fields of viruses, surveillance and ethics, the most important stakeholders and values are identified. The famous appathon in April can be seen as a clumsy attempt to start the conversation with experts.
## VSD at the empirical level

At the empirical level, it is investigated how the various stakeholders actually experience and weigh the values that are relevant. Methods such as interviews, focus groups or experiments are used here. This leads to a further elaboration of the values in norms. Norms are the boundaries people set. For example: I want to reveal who I have been close to, but not where I have been. Or, I think an infection rate of 0,8 is acceptable, but not of 1,2. In England, for example, a pilot has been conducted on the Isle of Wight with a tracking and tracing app. Hopefully the pilot will not only be used to measure the effectiveness of the app, but also to question citizens on how they experience its use. It would also be interesting to ask those who have not installed the app what their reasons were for not doing so and whether they have been stigmatised for not participating. A smaller-scale way of investigating how individuals experience certain values and what limits they apply to this is the *philosophical conversation*. In a philosophical conversation, a dialogue is conducted in which each person is asked intensive questions about what he or she considers important [Morrell, 2004].

## VSD on a technical level

At the technical level, the values and norms are translated into technical design. Examples are the decision not to use location data because this is not desirable in terms of privacy, to store data locally instead of centrally (privacy) and to place the responsibility for taking action with the citizen instead of with the GGD (autonomy). In making these choices, the challenge is to look for creative solutions where there are tensions between values: for example, should everything be resolved 100% digitally? Does it all have to be so beautiful and wonderful? We are often so focused on a specific digital solution that we limit our solution space unnecessarily.
## The task for designers

For many designers, it is not self-evident to consider their design in terms of personal values. Experience shows that the conversation very quickly falls back on protecting privacy. In order to realise that there are more values at stake, it is necessary to think much more broadly about a design. The Value Sensitive Design Research Lab at the University of Washington has developed a set of so-called *envisioning cards*, which contain questions that go beyond the immediate context of use and thus stimulate this broader view (vsdesign.org). The questions relate to the future, to what happens when a design penetrates further into existence, to indirect stakeholders and to values. Examples of such questions translated to the tracking-and-tracing app are: who might use the app for unintended purposes? How might the use of the app shift over decades? What are the consequences for citizens who do not want to use the app? How might the app influence our behaviour?

VSD is not a specific development methodology, but can be used with any development approach, waterfall, agile or design thinking. It adds an extra dimension, the value dimension. In her wonderful book *Ethical IT Innovation, A Value-Based System Design Approach*, Sarah Spiekermann describes in detail how VSD can be applied in practice to the development of IT systems [Spiekermann, 2016]. She elaborates on the questions posed by the various VSD perspectives: Who are the direct and indirect stakeholders? What advantages and disadvantages does the solution have for these stakeholders? How do these advantages and disadvantages translate into underlying values? How can these values be further elaborated? What possible tensions exist between these values? How do the stakeholders weigh the values and where do they put priorities? How can the design prevent negative experiences and create positive experiences? In 2019 the book *Value Sensitive Design, Shaping Technology with Moral Imagination* was published [Friedman & Hendry, 2019]. This accessible book gives a nice overview of the philosophy behind VSD
and the development over the years. In my view, it is a must for
anyone involved in the design, development and use of apps and
other digital solutions. Especially in times when the pressure and
the importance of fast digitalisation is enormous on all fronts.

* The success or failure of a digital innovation is partly determined by the extent to which the digital innovation takes account of social and personal values.

* Value Sensitive Design offers an approach, usable in any existing design approach, to include personal values in design and development from the very beginning, by design.

Sources

* Flanagan M., D.C. Howe & H. Nissenbaum (2008). *Embodying Values in Technology: Theory and Practice*, in: J. Van den Hoven & J. Weckert (ed.), *Information Technology and Moral Philosophy*, pp. 322-353.
  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

* Friedman B., P.H. Kahn & A. Borning (2006). *Value Sensitive Design and Information Systems*. In: P. Zhang & D. Galletta (ed.), *Human-Computer Interaction in Management Information Systems: Foundations*, pp. 348-372.
  New York: M.E. Sharpe.

* Friedman, B. & Hendry, D. (2019). *Value Sensitive Design. Shaping Technology with Moral Imagination*. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

* Morrell, K. (2004). *Socratic Dialogue as a Tool for Teaching Business Ethics*.
  *Journal of Business Ethics*, 53(4), p. 383-392.

* Spiekermann, S. (2016). *Ethical IT Innovation, A Value-Based System Design Approach*. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
# Modesty adorns the ethical conscious system builders: the human being at the centre

by Anna Snel

There are growing calls for greater ethical awareness in IT. This should come as no surprise to anyone given the major scandals in the tech industry that have hit the news in recent years. Facebook, Uber, WhatsApp, Google, Instagram. Data hacks, fake news, accidents with self-driving cars, dangers of AI. Everything passed by.

But there are solutions, including more modesty in the design of systems, which can put people centre stage much better. Developments are rapid and the influence of technology on people and society is enormous. We are also becoming increasingly aware of it. As long as it's about data in general, and privacy as a concept and misinformation in the abstract, you can perhaps look away. But when it's about your data, about the politics of your city or country and the information you consume every day, then it gets close.

Technology provides an extra dimension to this story. Not only are different services, environments and systems becoming interconnected through all kinds of networks, but you also see that technology is gaining a kind of autonomy. A certain service may once have been designed
by people with the best intentions. But if this service becomes part
of a network of services and a certain degree of self-learning occurs,
there may be consequences that we did not foresee.

And that makes the story of ethics and IT tricky. Because do you
look at the intentions that the designer had and whether these were
good? Or do you look at what consequences the design led to? It
seems that we do both. On the one hand, we often have ethical
judgements about certain technologies before we even see the
consequences. For example, many are concerned about the self-
directed and self-learning capabilities of AI or the risks of
algorithms making decisions for us. On the other hand, we also
judge technological developments on what they have led to. No
matter how sympathetic Zuckerberg's intentions may have been at
one point, we feel bad if our data is used without our knowledge and
if we are presented with fake news.

It is therefore a good idea to include ethical motivations
throughout the design process, so that you keep track of both
intentions and consequences or outcomes.

## Needs people central

Almost every explanation of how design thinking works starts with
figuring out the problem you are going to deal with. By thinking
about who has a problem and what his or her problem actually is,
you can avoid answers that are separate from a question. We then
avoid designing things just because it is technologically possible,
and first think about what problem we are actually solving.
Something is only a problem if someone finds it problematic. So who
is this someone and how do we find out what his or her problem is?
Should we ask? Observe it? Walk with them? Put ourselves in that
person's shoes? These are all ways in which we can ensure that the
focus is not on the technological possibilities, but on the human
being and what his or her needs are. This is about the intention of
the design: how can we design for people and their needs
on the basis of empathy with people's needs? A little clarity on how far we know the issue is then appropriate.

## More perspectives

This is the step in which design thinkers create ideas. By looking at the issue from different perspectives, different insights arise and you can arrive at different lines of thought. But here too it is important to keep your ethical awareness sharp. Are you only looking at the issue from a certain perspective such as what is technologically feasible, economically advantageous or politically desirable? Then realise that there are probably important perspectives that you have not included. By looking for new perspectives, you can avoid this bias in your thinking. Values such as diversity and inclusiveness are important here. Diversity in the sense of the perspectives you bring in, inclusiveness in the sense of what you actually do with the new insights. "Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance." We don't have all the necessary knowledge and insights ourselves, so again, modesty is a great thing.

Another important phase is the experimentation or prototyping phase. Here, ethics can be seen in the fact that you have to take into account the unforeseen consequences and effects of use. If you implement something and think: well, that was that, then you don't look at it anymore. Your job is done and what happens next is someone else's responsibility. But from a systemic point of view, it is very interesting to look at how you can prepare yourself to some extent for consequences that occur outside your traditional field of vision. By testing prototypes in a realistic setting, you may be able to see certain consequences coming. Then there is still time to adjust things, instead of implementing the whole thing, which later leads to unprecedented dramas. Monitoring what happens to the design is therefore an ongoing activity, because you do not know what consequences may still occur. Here again, we see the importance of modesty, this time in relation to our knowledge of the future.
When designing graphics and physical objects, people often stop at this prototyping stage. After all, these designs are visible and tangible, so people can judge for themselves whether they meet their expectations. However, in recent decades, the focus of designers has increasingly shifted towards the design of services, environments and systems. Here you are talking about designs of which man is a part, or fully a part. Designs that, if they incorporate the wrong values, can have major consequences for masses of people. For more complex issues such as services, systems and environments, an extra step is therefore needed. People cannot judge at first sight what the design entails, let alone whether it suits their needs, so more explanation is needed here.

## Approach

The ethical component is in the approach. Do you tell people what you have thought up and how good it is, in order to tempt them to participate, or do you put people first and take them through the process you have gone through? With the possible result that people arrive at a different, who knows even better outcome? Are you open to the fact that there may be better solutions and do you give others the space they need to find the most suitable solution for themselves? In this last choice we again see the emphasis on a modest attitude.

"Farmers don't grow crops, they create the conditions for crops to grow." If we want to put people first, it might also be a good idea to cultivate humility in how we create the right conditions for the design of services, environments and systems.
* When designing applications, it is important to take ethical considerations into account during the design process, so that both the intentions and the consequences or outcomes can be seen.

* Something is only a problem if someone finds it problematic. This also applies to the creation of new IT solutions: it is better to think about what problem actually needs to be solved first, than to create nice designs just because something is technically possible.

* By ensuring diversity of perspectives in the design process, you ensure inclusiveness of new insights, and ultimately create a better (IT) solution.

## Source

* Previously published on AG Connect: https://www.agconnect.nl/artikel/bescheidenheid-siert-de-ethisch-bewuste-systeembouwers, February 27th, 2019
# From filing cabinet to work system

Erik Saaman

In the past, archiving came at the end of a process. Nowadays, most information is digital. This makes it possible to shift archiving to the beginning. In the ideal world of today, archiving starts when information systems are set up. We call this 'archiving by design'.

## Outdated image

How it used to be: an archivist walked through the room with piles of folders - on every desk there was something for the archive. And the archivist would try to keep the files in order.

in the chaos of documents. What should we keep and for how long? How do I ensure that someone will ever be able to find it again? In which filing cabinet is there still room? Help, they are all overflowing! With 'archiving by design' this image is outdated.

**Archiving by design** Archiving by design means that you already take into account when designing the information systems that support a work process.

It is about making the information from the work process permanently accessible. In this way, archiving by design bridges the gap between the work process and the archiving process.

With archiving by design, the work process is central, not the archiving process. It is therefore important that archive specialists have a good understanding of how the work process works. The work process and the information systems used for it. Only then can they be a serious discussion partner for managers and ICT professionals. Because the work process is central, employees are also more willing to implement measures aimed at proper archiving.

**How and when?** Archiving by design is not something for information professionals to do. Instead, you do that together with creators.
and users of information. Let them think about the need for accessible information and what is required for this. The best time for this is during the design of the information systems that support the work process. Then you can set up the technology to support the work process and make the information that comes from it accessible in a sustainable way. It is better to do things right at the start than to repair them at the end.

## Archiving in the work system

Traditionally, when archiving, information is moved from the system where it originated (the work system) to a dedicated archiving system. But this transfer often involves high costs. And there is a risk that the information will be corrupted in the process. There is often another way. Information can be archived in the work system itself, as long as it complies with the requirements for sustainable accessibility. You must be able to open up the work system, for example

It must be easily searchable for other users and use standard file formats. Sometimes moving the information to an archive system is the best or even the only solution. But that is the outcome of the design process and not its starting point. And certainly not a choice after the fact.

Archiving by design is **not a panacea**. It is a way of tackling the issue of digital archiving, but does not answer the question of how.

Digital archiving is still a tough problem. You cannot solve it by formulating a total solution in advance and implementing it according to a fixed plan. It is better to discover what works step by step. Archiving by design helps to take those steps.

All those involved work together: creators and users of information, information professionals, digital archive advisors and builders of the information system.

## Source

Previously published in *Archive by Design of Overheidsdocumentatie (OD) magazine, Overheidsdocumentatie (OD), October/November 2018 and on AG Connect*: https://www.agconnect.nl/artikel/van-archiefkast-naar-werksysteem, November 1st 2018
# Value-inspired design: moving forward together after the corona crisis

by Abraham de Kruijf

Work processes can be value-inspired. This supports organisations in dealing well with customers, employees, the external environment and environmental and social sustainability [Brundtland, 1987].

Without explicitly including "value-based" goals in an organisation's work processes and systems, we run the risk of the "people" factor disappearing or at least becoming less important than technical, rational or machine-based process design. How can you incorporate "value" into business processes via IT solutions? Four values can help.

When asking which values are important for an organisation, it can help to start from the four verbs 'be', 'have', 'do' and 'become'. If the opposites of these four are also defined, a bandwidth of associations between each pair emerges. For example, if being stands for having a job and not being stands for losing your job, then between the two extremes there is a range of 'constructive words' that imply an appreciation, that express what is 'value-full', what is worth striving for.
## From verbs to work values and interaction values

Reflecting the four verbs on daily life, work relationships, organisations and society, work values emerge. These work values are values in interactions between people, organisations and the living environment. The mirroring of work words into work values produces the following four basic values, interaction values:

* dignified existence (from being vs. non-being)

* sustainable development: economic, social, technological, ecological, cultural (from the point of view of having vs. not having)

* acting responsibly (from doing vs. not doing)

* listening leadership/collaboration (from becoming vs. not becoming)

For each of these values, more in-depth definitions were subsequently worked out (see figure 1 for definitions).

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /></figure>

Source: [De Kruijf, 1994]

<caption>Figure 1: Definition of four interaction values</caption>
By applying these definitions of interaction values in the design process, processes and the associated ICT facilities can be made value-oriented.

In a community of forty-two people, an approach was then worked out in which these people, by means of the value definitions, discussed value issues in their own organisations and in society [De Kruijf, 1994]. In this way the applicability of these value concepts was tested at the same time. The values are also used in other situations and organisations. In recent years, this practical research has led to a tightening up and improvement of the approach, which is briefly outlined below.

## Design in dialogue and the PER clause

In order to be able to include values in the design process of ICT facilities, it is important to compose and structure the steps of a work process. The PER clause is used here (see the explanation below). This works in any case short-cycle and can also be done agile.

From this decomposition a translation can then be made to ICT- services and micro-services [TNO-ICT & De Kruijf, 2006]. This applies to executive, management and supporting work processes as well as to the data within these processes. In this approach, at times both the employees in the business process (the future 'users' of the ICT facilities) and the designers and builders are working together. Hoppenbrouwers [2007] says about this: "The approach falls into the category of communication-oriented methods that create a kind of 'gradual emergent understanding' from the actual interaction between stakeholders. "Processes and data are both addressed in this interaction.

The Process Execution Repetition clause, or PER clause, is a specific methodological approach within the value-based design approach. PER also stands for "per" in the sense of executing a process (step) per day, per week, per client, per incident, per time that something is executed.
prevents. With the PER-clause, modular design and decomposition
can be done individually and/or in joint workshops [De Kruijf, A.,
2000]. The method is thus immediately self-documenting,
structurally testable and has a short time-to-market. The
customer/user can read the structured and natural language well.
In addition, the method is strong in finding, optimising, and legibly
describing (multiple) cause-and-effect relationships in work
processes.

The PER clause has already been applied in combination with Archimate, use cases and user stories. At times when information professionals design processes together with users, further polishing can take place during the dialogue. And by structuring the design, you can reenact it during the design process. In this way, a high-quality, customer-friendly and digital design is created with attention to the naming of appropriate technology and values. It is a design principle to first model technology- and organisation-independent and later, with advancing insight, to make implementation and design choices. See also below under "the fourth value" (page 245).

Concrete examples of this approach include incorporating the
way an organisation wants to treat its clients, by giving employees
specific instructions and pro-cess steps at the checkout or in an app.
Another example: where alertness to value in terms of employment
was ensured in facilities where people were made redundant. And,
more technically: using calculation functions to indicate where
scarcity or redundancy will occur, at what times and in what areas,
and informing employees and managers of this through regular
reports.

Ethics: applying the 4 values in a work process

The four values described can thus be applied in the model learning
of work processes. In terms of content, if one chooses, for example,
honesty (an underlying value of "respect"), or inventiveness (an
underlying value of "co-creation") as a value, then one forms
a picture of what such a value means for the organisation, the organisational field, in the concrete implementation of the work. This can be done in, for example, a Values Workshop. The ideas that this generates can be included in the descriptions of the work processes.

The *first and second values* combined focus on human dignity and sustainability in a society: economic, ecological and social. The first value does not emphasise 'rule', as in environments where power plays an important role, but uses 'manage' [Nederlands Dagblad & De Kruijf, 2013]. Managing appeals to taking care of your environment, and to attention and respect.

The *third value* has received extra attention since the coronation period. Acting responsibly' is focused on your own contribution and on your interaction with the greater whole: you can pass on an infection to someone without being ill yourself. The added 'take 1extra responsibility every day' is a rule of thumb. The French Prime Minister Jospin used to speak about doing things "with quiet courage" [Jospin & NRC, 1997]. Everyone can choose to take an 1extra percentage of responsibility every day and go the extra mile.

The *fourth value* "leading with listening, cooperating with listening" indicates that someone who is in charge has to deal with people who already lead their own lives. A manager may add to this. In the early days of values work, society and work in organisations were even more hierarchically organised than they are today. In the same time of the development of values, the work word "organisation" was introduced: "organising from the bottom up and on the basis of values" [Roobeek & De Kruijf, 1994].

## Ethics: applying the 4 values in a society

The development of societies and the adoption of values is plotted in the figure 2 as a growth trajectory in time. This is to be understood more as a developmental sequence than as a process in exact time periods.
Ecocracy, values for business and society (summary overview)

<table><caption>Figure 2: Developments in values in society</caption><thead><tr><th>Topic</th><th>Chaos</th><th>Theocracy</th><th>Autocracy</th><th>Democracy</th><th>Egocracy</th><th>Sociocracy</th><th>Ecocracy</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>Authority awarded to:</th><td>Movement, without recognisable structuring principle</td><td>An Almighty God, outside/ above us, which the human being assumes that God wills</td><td>A mighty man who is above and about people definitely</td><td>The people, the majority of the people who are own leaders select</td><td>The individual group/ownership long (for the time being) above the interest of the whole</td><td>Each and every one of them, such argue that each of the involved through consent to his comes right</td><td>Each person, and values as guide for the interaction between people and between man and surroundings</td></tr><tr><th>Strengths:</th><td>Flexibility, space for change, assistance in the case of adhocracy</td><td>Respect for the higher, ethical be aware</td><td>Powerful all conditions present</td><td>Everyone can be make your voice heard, power is representative divided</td><td>For the individual the growth to the become themselves, the growth towards individuation</td><td>Quality of decide and decisions: attention to the individual and for the whole</td><td>Frame of reference as a tool for the change-over operation at living together and work together</td></tr><tr><th>Risks:</th><td>No common thread, no possible ability to organise</td><td>Responsible- heath outside the man, power at those who believe God better know then others</td><td>One person (or some) decides about others without being can defend himself</td><td>Majority can impose on minority, rule- can lead to bureaucracy</td><td>Selfishness, no really feel- attention and care for and each individual and for the whole</td><td>Sets special requirements for discussion leaders, and: why is it one argument better than the other</td><td>Sets special requirements for discussion leaders, risk of subjective choice, fill in and handling of values</td></tr></tbody></table>

The summary overview orders from left to right on the basis of assigned authority: from interaction without order, to 'from above man', to dealing with each other as individuals, moving towards the use of values in their interactions [De Kruijf, 1994]. In other words, the figure indicates that it is possible to use values as a means of ordering, in this case the (basic) designs of societies.

To bring the overview to life, the reader can add years, and colours, for a region or a country. (Personal or professional: one can highlight where one is and where one wants to go. The overview has been expanded in the meantime. For the word 'ecocracy' another word is being considered).

It is advisable to combine the above-mentioned 'strengths' of fresh 'crations'. This combination has the effect that, as a professional, you act responsibly, you are prepared to be accountable, and you are concerned with sustainability and the involvement of people in your work and your environment [NRC & Van de Kerkhof, 1995].
## Value definitions as reference material to reflect on your world

Because there are value definitions, it is possible to reflect on them (figure 3). Value definitions as reference material therefore help to realise the state of a living environment. We expect information professionals to act autonomously: in this case this does not mean 'endlessly setting your own laws or just letting things blow by', but setting your own laws, imposing (some) restrictions on yourself, partly in the interest of society, the greater whole. The observance of values is very helpful in this respect.

> "Whether or not (in terms of the capacity of the earth) something is a limit is therefore to some extent a choice. And the form in which you cast that choice is crystal clear to Cornelius Castoriadis (1922-1997): you can choose that your desires are insatiable and behave accordingly (*the heteronomous option*) or you can restrain your desires and impose limits on yourself (*the autonomous option*). If you want to break through Mathus' iron logic of insatiable desires, limits, scarcity and growth, you can only do so with an autonomous attitude. For it is only by placing those boundaries in yourself.

> When I talked about this with a wise friend of mine, she wrote back that an autonomous attitude to life takes a lot of courage. She is right. And whether I have the courage, I do not know. What I do know is that it is the only way to escape the Malthus trap."

> - Gertjan Cobelens in Jan van Arkels digital book 4ECO

<caption>Figure 3: Quotation for meaning of the word 'autonomous' [Van Arkel, 2020].</caption>

In other words, without values, there is a risk that people will be treated in a cerebral and mechanical way by (prescribed) processes, by organisations or even by society. In other words, the image of mankind becomes "flattened". The dilemma, incidentally, is that someone who is not open to the conversation about values may also find it difficult to understand these sentences that ask for values.
There is a solution to get out of this paradox, and that is to ask questions and to think in terms of "and-and-and". After all, we live in a society that is developing rapidly: social media are creating new multi-sided associations in your thinking and old associations are fading away. We have to point this out to information professionals and - where possible - support them. I, too, went through that process. My value-free thinking took over. When I became aware of that, I started to make values explicit, to bring values back into my attention. In other words: attention to lifelong development and learning. Life demands of us humans that we pay attention and live and that we provide each other with our and each other's basic living conditions. Or as Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits, says about the usefulness of values: "To lift all society through personal/social ecology."

Business and ICT must first research values, so that they can be included in design workshops.

* Ethics - the application of (the four) values in a work process.

* The four value definitions help to give direction to the design of ICT facilities for work processes.
Sources

□ Arkel, J. van (2020). 4Eco.

Consulted on https://www.4eco.nl/over-4eco/inleiding/

□ Brundtland et al (1987). Our Common Future. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Consulted on

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland-report. Some reports had preceded it.
"The Brundtland Report was the first to call for 'sustainable development',
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their needs."

□ De Kruijf, A. (1994). *Ecocratie, op weg naar waarde-vol op-organiseren.*

Uniworld Organisatie Consult in collaboration with Uitgeverij Jan van Arkel.
Consulted from www.trouw.nl/culture-media/new-values-in-book-for-managers-loesje-and-michael-gorbachev-together-in-ecocracy~bdb5bad9/

□ De Kruijf, A. (2000). *Vernieuwen van bedrijfsprocessen, organisatie en ICT* (w.o. data). Ten Hagen & Stam. Available digitally from IDA on request.

□ De Kruijf, A. (2020). Manuscript of English, international version of [De Kruijf, 1994].

□ Hoppenbrouwers, S. (2007). UNIBIS method of A. de Kruijf as a structure provider. Consulted on http://www.idainnovatie.nl/Publicaties/2007-09-26%20Dr%20 Stijn%20Hoppenbrouwers%20Radboud%20Uni%20-%20UNIBIS-method-as-structure-giver.pdf

□ Jospin, L. (1997). In Jospin wordt het politieke roofdier wakker. Accessed at 99https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/17/05/07/in-jospin-wordt-het-politieke-roofdier-awake-7352369-a556162

□ Nederlands Dagblad & De Kruijf, A. (2013). Heersen.

□ NRC & Kerkhof, T. van de (1995). Review on [De Kruijf, 1994]. Consulted on https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1995/01/05/de-nieuwe-manager-werkt-om-te-leven-7251960-a1302957.

□ Roobeek, A., & De Kruijf, A. (1994). In 'Ecocratie, op weg naar waarde-volop-organiseren': two chapters from the time when the changes mentioned in the present book text emerged. Resp. chapters:

□ 6.3. De Kruijf, A. Decentraliseren, op-organiseren en spreiden;

□ 6.4. Roobeek, A. Strategisch management van onderop, luisterend leiden om samen te besluiten.

□ TNO-ICT & De Kruijf, A. (2006). Consulted on http://www.idainnovatie.nl/Publicaties/TNO-ICT%20Unibis.pdf.

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# Annexes
<figure><img src="image_13.png" /></figure>
Editors and authors

Editors

**Dr. Wouter Bronsgeest** is co-president of KNVI, the Royal Dutch Association of Information Professionals. Wouter is connected to the University of Twente as a researcher. He obtained his doctorate from the Center for eGovernment Studies (CFES) at the University of Twente on the evaluation of IT projects in government. He publishes regularly on topics within the field and gives lectures at various universities, including VU University Amsterdam, University of Twente and Nyenrode Business University. Wouter is on the editorial board of AG Connect and is a member of the Supervisory Board of the HBO and Master ICT programme of Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. He was co-initiator of the ArchiValue consortium, which brings together architecture, project management and portfolio management, the consortium 'New Models for the Social Enterprise', which studies the effect of social media on the design of organisations, and the consortium 'Digital We' on the impact of the digital transformation on organisations. Wouter works at the Ministry of Finance - Belastingdienst as member of the MT of the IT-Directorate.

E-mail: wouter.bronsgeest@knvi.nl

**Sandra de Waart MBA** is secretary of KNVI, the Royal Dutch Association of Information Professionals. She studied Slavic Language and Literature at the universities of Würzburg, Cologne and Amsterdam. In 2016 she completed an Executive MBA in Business & IT at Nyenrode Business University. She works as an independent Business & IT professional in the Netherlands and Germany.

E-mail: sandra.de.waart@knvi.nl
## Authors

**Dr. Huib Aldewereld** is a lecturer/researcher at the Artificial Intelligence centre of Utrecht University. He has a PhD in normative multi-agent systems, and has an extensive academic career in the field of normative and ethical aspects of the (deployment of) AI systems. In addition, he is a senior lecturer in AI & Data and responsible for the development and establishment of the first AI college of higher education.

E-mail: huib.aldewereld@hu.nl

**Martijn Aslander** (https://www.martijnaslander.nl/) is a stand-up philosopher, boardroom sparring partner and co-author of the bestseller *Nooit af*. He manually built the largest dolmen in the world, stood at the cradle of Lifehacking.nl and is co-founder of Permanent Beta. Both on stage and in his publications, he charts the complex impact of technology on society with passion and humour.

E-mail: mail@martijnaslander.nl

**Dr. Martin van den Berg** works as a researcher at the Artificial Intelligence chair and lecturer at the Master of Information at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and as an enterprise architect in the financial sector. He obtained his doctorate in research in 2019 on how enterprise architecture can contribute to better decision making. Martin is a fellow of the KNVI.

E-mail: martin.m.vandenberg@hu.nl
**Dr. ir. Piet Boekhoudt** (1960) has been the director of the Digisterker Foundation (www.digisterker.nl) since its inception in 2014. The Digisterker Foundation develops educational materials on the use of digital government. The Digisterker Foundation operates in a large national network of libraries, schools, government organisations and other social organisations.

Piet Boekhoudt studied Applied Mathematics at the University of Twente, where he graduated cum 1984laude. His graduation work was in the field of mathematical systems theory. As a researcher, he worked at the University of Twente and the University of Maastricht. He obtained his doctorate in 1988 from the University of Twente. He was a university lecturer at Maastricht University from 198 until 1998. Piet Boekhoudt worked in Enschede at Novay, the former Telematica Instituut from 1998 until 2014. There he was project manager of innovation projects aimed at SMEs and the government.

E-mail: piet.boekhoudt@digisterker.nl

**Anita Bosman MA** is the director of the Institute for ICT at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and is responsible for hbo-ICT, Master of Informatics and the Applied Datascience Master. She was a member of the board of KNVI from 2005 until 2019. Since 2020 she is active as a KNVI-fellow. Her main themes at KNVI are education and educational innovation. Anita has extensive management experience in the ICT education domain. Both at the HU and as a member of KNVI, she makes an active contribution to the professionalisation and profiling of the profession. Anita is constantly looking for connections between education, research and the business world. Her passion lies in innovating education and enthusing students & ICT professionals for ICT education.

E-mail: anita.bosman@hu.nl
As a consultant and project leader, **ing. Jurjen Braakhekke MM CTPP** helps organisations to explore and implement smart solutions. At Verdonck, Klooster & Associates (VKA) he explored possible development scenarios for smart shipping in inland shipping. Earlier, as product manager, he was responsible for various IoT solutions at Schiphol. For example, for (indoor) tracking of vehicles and assets and measuring visitor flows. He was also involved in the development of Schiphol's data strategy and the management and decision-making processes for the sharing and acquisition of data.

E-mail: jbraakhekke@gmail.com

**Drs. Klaas Brongers** has extensive experience in (information) management at various organisations and is a partner of the Bureau for Management & ICT. Before KNVI, he was successively secretary and chairman of its legal predecessors Ngi and Ngi-NGN (2006-2601) and is now a member of the Advisory Council. His main themes at KNVI are digital transformation and the professionalisation and profiling of the profession.

E-mail: k.brongers@solutions4u.nl

**Mr. Petra van Driel**, lawyer, works at the intersection of law, IT and process. Petra has more than ten years of experience in the public sector, in which she has and had various roles within organisations in times of transition (www.petravandriel.nl). For a number of years, she has been an external member of the Utrecht University Lectureship in Meaningful Innovation and of the Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Sittard, at the Preventive Law lectureship. As a researcher, she is concerned with the relationship between law and ethics. Her PhD research is about the foundations of the rule of law in relation to digitisation processes. Besides guiding organisations in development, she is a horse coach.

E-mail: infopetravdriel@gmail.com
**Mr. Natascha van Duuren** is a lawyer and partner at De Clercq Advocaten Notariaat. She specialises in IT, intellectual property and privacy. Natascha is a fellow of KNVI and chair of the KNVI Interest Group on IT Law. She is editor of the KNVI publications Multidisciplinary Aspects of Blockchain and Multidisciplinary Aspects of Artificial Intelligence. On behalf of the KNVI, she participates in the Data Sharing working group of the National AI Coalition. Natascha is also chairman of the jury of the Computable Awards Healthcare 2020.

E-mail: n.vanduuren@declercq.com

**Drs. Danny Greefhorst** is director and principal consultant at ArchiXL and works as a consultant and architect on data, information and knowledge intensive issues. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the field of enterprise architecture and data management, particularly with public and semi-public organisations. He is active in the architecture community and he regularly publishes on data, information and architecture-related topics. He is chairman of the interest groups 'architecture' and 'critical thinking of information' of the KNVI and of the Digital Architecture Foundation. He is lead author of the book Architecture Principles - The Cornerstones of Enterprise Architecture and co-author of the books Ruimte voor mens en organisatie - visie en aanpak voor de digitale samenleving and Test automation agile organisatie - klaar voor de toekomst. In 2011, he received the NAF medal in recognition of his contributions to the Dutch architecture community.

E-mail: dgreefhorst@archixl.nl

**Rian van Heur** is content director of AG Connect, the IT trade platform for the Dutch IT decision maker. Rian has been working as an IT journalist since 2005 and has, besides articles for AG Connect, written articles for Computable, Intermediair, TIAS Business School, PW de Gids and Computerweekly.com.

E-mail: r.vanheur@agconnect.nl