本文探讨了爱沙尼亚电子政务的成功经验，以及欧盟与CPTPP的关系、教皇对人工智能的看法，以及英国在国家能力方面面临的问题。爱沙尼亚通过拥抱新技术克服了官僚主义的挑战，建立了世界闻名的电子政务体系。文章还分析了欧盟加入CPTPP可能面临的障碍，并提到了教皇对人工智能的回应。此外，文章还揭示了英国在国家能力建设方面存在的困境，引发了对政府效率和技术应用的思考。

🇪🇪 爱沙尼亚的电子政务始于90年代，当时该国面临着官僚机构效率低下的问题。为了解决腐败问题和提高国家能力，政治领导人拥抱新技术，例如前总统Toomas Hendrik Ilves所说，“你无法贿赂一台计算机”。

🌍 欧盟与CPTPP的关系。文章提到，欧盟可能面临加入CPTPP的挑战，例如欧盟严格的数据保护法律与CPTPP对更自由的数据流动的侧重有所不同。文章暗示，欧盟可能会利用CPTPP带来的压力来推动内部改革。

🤖 教皇对人工智能的回应。教皇在就职演说中提到了教会对人工智能的回应，但文章认为这略显平淡。文章提出了关于人工智能伦理和灵魂的深刻问题，例如人工智能是否需要救赎等。

🇬🇧 英国在国家能力方面的问题。文章引用了一则关于英国老妇人在街上受伤的事件，揭示了英国在应对紧急情况方面的不足。这反映出英国在国家能力建设方面存在的严重问题。

Published on May 18, 2025 4:20 AM GMT

The Birth of Estonian E-government

Estonia thanks the old communist bureacrats in the ‘90s for its now world famous e-government. It’s worth noting that all post-communist countries were facing the same problem, but only Estonia (ok, maybe also Georgia under Mikhail Saakashvili) used the problem to their advantage:

But while the economic situation was improving, many Estonian state institutions and infrastructure were still in disrepair and there was a constant danger of backsliding. One of the greatest risks came from inside the bureaucracy which was still replete with Soviet-era holdovers. […] Political leaders desperately needed a way to both defeat corruption and increase state capacity, each of which would be a difficult task independently. Thankfully, the youth of Laar’s cabinet and the Estonian political elite worked in the country’s favor as political leaders embraced the potential of new technologies to solve the country’s most pressing problems. After all, as former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves is fond of saying, “you can’t bribe a computer.”

--- Joel Burke: Rebooting a Nation: The Incredible Rise of Estonia, E-Government and the Startup Revolution

EU and CPTPP

We all know the trick when the politicians implement some unpopular, but necessary measure and then blame IMF for making them do it. The same, to some extent, also happens with national governments and the EU.

Now, the EU itself needs some reforms badly, namely, as Draghi report suggests, relaxing the regulation, but there seems no political will to do that. At least, last time I’ve checked I have still seen those annoying “accept cookies” banners alive and kicking.

So why not use the political momentum created by American tariffs and an equivalent of the IMF trick to address the issue?

Politico comments on the idea of EU joining CPTPP that has been voiced lately:

It’s a plan leaders in Brussels and the 12-nation Indo-Pacific club have been turning over in their minds since Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs. As Trump’s trade war smashes the economic order globalization built into little bits: Why not band together?

But as LTLDR News report:

There are still quite a few obstacles in the way. Firstly, the EU generally struggles to sign free trade deals at the moment. The EU’s strict data protection laws, for instance, which are historically not compromised on in trade agreements, contrast with the CPTPP’s emphasis on freer data flow.

Can we use the IMF derangement syndrome for our good? You know: “Nobody wanted to cut those regulations, but CPTPP made us do it.” Bad, bad CPTPP!

Habemus papam

I know that Pope is not an exclusively European matter. However, he’s also a leader of the smallest European country. So, yes, it’s good to know we have at least one head of state who knows what the Bayes theorem is.

Also, when addressing cardinals after the election, the new Pope said:

“Today, the Church offers to all her treasure of social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and the developments of artificial intelligence.”

Feels a bit anodyne to me.

I am no catholic, but I would expect the emergence of technology capable of thinking would give Catholics a pause: When exactly does a machine qualify to have a soul? Having been trained on the Internet, with all its porn and everything, is the AI somehow, by contagion, burdened by the original sin? Did Jesus sacrifice himself also for the AIs? Should we expect them to know right from wrong? Will Sidney go to hell?

So many questions! But I guess even Pope can’t stray too far away from the Overton window.

Also check the evergreen post by Bruce Schneier on the security of the papal election:

The cardinals are in “choir dress” during the voting, which has translucent lace sleeves under a short red cape, making sleight-of-hand tricks [when casting votes] much harder.

Many more goodies in the article.

Problems with state capacity in Britain

It’s no secret that Britain has problems with state capacity, but wow, it looks worse than I though.

Archie Hall writes:

An old lady, Daphne, had fallen on the street, knocked her head, and was bleeding. I’d encourage you to read the whole thing, but I photographed an especially shocking passage in the print copy I was reading at the time.

Discuss