Mayor Sebastiaan van ‘t Erve of the municipality of Lochem sees the opportunities offered by AI and Algorithms. But he also advocates keeping a close eye on digital values such as human rights. Lochem published 3 algorithms in the Algorithm Register.
Transparency is important, he argues. “But the question is really: how do we raise awareness?”
About Sebastiaan van ‘t Erve
How do you see your role as mayor regarding the responsible use of algorithms in your municipality?
“Digitalization is the backbone of government and that backbone is becoming more and more important.” That it is important to take good care of that he realized even more since the municipality of Lochem was hacked in 2019. Taking good care of that digital backbone is increasingly about principles he states. “What started out being good security and making sure you’re on top of it is increasingly becoming a story of compliance: are you complying with the rules? To me, this now goes one layer deeper: it’s about human rights.”
He therefore advocates more awareness about norms and values in digitalization: “Where are the boundaries and to what extent do we want to push them? We need to have that debate much more intrusively. I think we have something to add there as a government.” If we want to be effective in protecting human rights, more frameworks are needed, he argues. “So how do we do that? That can only be done from the central government, the collective of municipalities or preferably from Europe.”
What opportunities do you see for using AI and algorithms to improve services to citizens?
“New technologies like generative AI offer a range of possibilities. I have seen examples of this and am impressed by how well a computer can answer complex questions. We can use AI to make complex regulations more accessible to residents, there is a real opportunity there. There are also limits to the possibilities. For example, can an AI chatbot also assess your personal situation and determine whether you are entitled to benefits? Then it becomes complicated. That’s where human controls belong, I think.”
Dependence
The government is also too dependent on foreign (big) tech companies in the applications of new technologies, he says. He therefore argues for more digital sovereignty at the European level, including for AI. “AI is now a kind of magic term, but most of the servers on which that AI runs are in China and America. Do we think it’s wise that we, as Dutch people and as a Dutch government, ask our questions to a device of which we don’t know what they do on the back end with our questions and the answers? This is also about human rights. We have spent years building a strong foundation of European values. We have to apply those principles tightly and therefore also say that it does matter where something comes from. Geopolitical tensions are rising enormously. Whether it’s Chinese equipment or American software; other governments like to watch us. Digital sovereignty requires Europe to take more direction in AI developments, for example in developing its language models based on European values and norms.”
You can read more about European values and principles in the European Digital Rights and Principles.
Are “AI and algorithms” topics the Lochem City Council is working on? Can you cite an example of that?
“We sent a memo to the city council not so long ago to inform them about the legislation that is coming to ensure human rights and security. Then you notice that for a lot of council members, this is still quite far away from their daily practice. I think that applies to more politicians. It appears so quickly technical. Things we hardly understand, while it is actually about very principled things: about human rights. Also at municipalities.”
Lochem has published algorithms in the Algorithm Register. Why do you think this is important?
“We are also a society, so we move with the technical developments. We try to do that within the right frameworks. We now have three algorithms in the Algorithm Register, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually have more.”
This does represent the development we as a government now have to go through together. Not everyone will technically understand exactly what goes on behind the scenes, but the idea that we are accountable for the choices we make and not hiding that is crucial. Because it’s about human rights. In the sense that we understand that we have a powerful digital tool that can affect every human being. That we use new technology carefully and cleanly and that we are willing to be accountable for it. That’s the movement we need to make.”
What is your most important lesson for other mayors?
“Transparency is important, but more is needed. I hope we can look for how to raise that awareness. Because it sometimes seems like registration in the Algorithm Register is a kind of technical safeguard, but it’s actually about points of principle.”
He sees that the conversation about the principles behind the use of algorithms – and more broadly of digitization – is still too little conducted at the administrative level. “Internally, we do have those conversations within the municipality, but it is not yet high on the administrative agenda. It doesn’t get on the table much at college meetings. Let alone in regional consultations, in a security region or higher up within the UNG. This is something we need to take up together because we are in a crucial phase of the digitization of the Netherlands.”
