Jelena Große-Bley and Genia Kostka from the Free University of Berlin take a look at how (what must be) the fastest growing city in the fastest growing economy in the world is rolling with data usage, especially at the governmental level.
Shenzhen is a good place to go looking for trends in how government are increasingly using AI/Big Data to streamline operations as China is at the forefront of these technologies; and Shenzhen, because of its relative youth, should face few legacy hurdles to implementation.
Moreover, Shenzhen has been promoted by the Central Government as a model for smart-city development and a testing ground for big-data application which is consistent with it being home to China’s leading edge companies in these fields (Huawei, DJI, ZTE, Tencent, and etc.).
This (below) is how the planners imagine it all working:
However, hurdles to achieving this Nirvana whilst not insurmountable are significant. Chief among them:
- Historic data inaccuracy. When forms were filled out several years ago on paper nobody checked if all the boxes were filled in correctly. Not a problem then but a big headache when such data is mechanized.
- Integrity and comparability of data depending on who collected and collects this. Many government departments have been in the habit of farming out data collection to the private sector.
- Heterogeneity of formats. Not only can government departments not easily integrate their data the contribution of private sector formats adds yet more spanners to the works.
- Lack of national comparability. The paper cites the example of sensors that monitor atmospheric conditions. In the humid south exactly the same devices will read conditions differently from the dry north.
- Unwillingness to share. This is self-evident but a surprising problem in an environment where the top-down imperative is so strong. Knowledge is power though, so nobody gives this up willingly?
- Increasing centralization. It becomes clear when you start this process that more data is better data and the place that more MUST reside is at the center. Unsurprisingly, not everybody is keen on this drift.
In conclusion the researchers note “..[There’s] a significant gap between big data ambitions and actual local realities in Shenzhen due to significant technical and political hurdles embedded in local data practices. The primary takeaway of the study is that “smartening” China’s cities is an arduous process,..”
The research is based on interviews from 2019 with those with first hand experience so, not surprisingly, frustration is the leitmotiv of the piece.
I’ll sign off on a more positive two-pennyworth though noting that, as a rule, if China wants to do get something done, it gets done.
I’d be willing to bet that problems encountered in Shenzhen will only make the process easier elsewhere and templates worked out for solutions there will become cookie-cutter models for slicker implementation elsewhere.
You can access the paper in full via the following link Big Data Dreams.
Happy Sunday.