Prof. Marijn Janssen pointed out that data, algorithms and automation could make government issues more intelligent, such as calculate the correct time, quantity and location for sowing, fertilizing and harvesting for peasants by utilizing microsatellites, government data and algorithms; adjudicate cases by using robots to act as judges, defuse and transfer bombs or to act as tax auditors; using unmanned drones to strengthen prison security; using the Internet of things and 5G to collect more data to build smart agriculture and smart city; building food traceability systems based on block chain technology and record data on each process of food from farms to consumers, which could provide a channel that individuals could submit feedback and could be monitored by multiple parties meanwhile, and so on.

Prof. Marijn Janssen believed that data shifts from closed data to open data, from unstructured data to structured data. The number of data sources is increasing, and the comparison and contrast of multiple sources of information can reduce data errors to a greater extent. Previously, data was distributed in government annual reports, corporate reports, and company-collected data, however, data is no longer privately owned by companies now, instead, users and consumers can share, collect and use data in real time. As data isn't entirely accurate, we still need to pay attention to the challenges behind big data while it is emerging. Prof. Marijn Janssen described nine typical challenges of big data: inaccurate data sources, unstable information quality, difficulty of interpreting data, data misinterpretation, incomplete data collection, data collection errors, multiple combinations of data, more complexity and dependency of combined data, and data fraud. Therefore, the detection of data authenticity is particularly important. In addition to data, artificial intelligence and algorithms are also risky: algorithms may deviate from expectations due to deviations or incorrect modifications in the data, resulting in misleading results for users. Finally, Prof. Marijn Janssen pointed out that the data was not the more the better, and the amount of data does not represent the quality of the data, and data explosion will confuse users with redundant information and distort their perception of reality. As he concluded that, if a company wants to make right decisions, it must develop the ability of identifying and using all available information reasonably and properly.

Prof. Marijn Janssen is the head of the Information and Communication Technology section of the Technology, Policy and Management Faculty of Delft University of Technology, Netherland. He ranks first in the global researchers in the field of E-government, and he was nominated as one of the 100 most influential persons in digital government worldwide in 2018. Besides, he is the editor-in-chief of Government Information Quarterly, which is among the Top 5 journals in library and information science field. He serves as organizing committee member and editorial board member in several international conferences and journals. He published more than 500 papers and his H index is 53, with 11,000 times citations by other authors.

Prof. Marijn Janssen gives lecture on Digital Government Trends and Research.

This news in Chinese version was contributed by Jiahui Gao