Jennifer Pahlka: Coding a better government

翻译人员: Dennis Guo 校对人员: Angelia King

So a couple of years ago I started a program

几年前，我启动了一个

to try to get the rockstar tech and design people

让一些厉害的搞技术和设计的人员们

to take a year off

在一个应该代表

and work in the one environment

他们所憎恨的一切的环境 -

that represents pretty much everything they're supposed to hate;

政府部门 -

we have them work in government.

内工作一年的项目。

The program is called Code for America,

这个项目叫做 “美国代码”，

and it's a little bit like a Peace Corps for geeks.

有点像怪杰的和平队。

We select a few fellows every year

我们每年筛选几个人，

and we have them work with city governments.

然后让他们为政府工作。

Instead of sending them off into the Third World,

不将他们送入第三世界，

we send them into the wilds of City Hall.

但将他们送入市政府厅。

And there they make great apps, they work with city staffers.

在那里，他们创造很好的应用程序，并与市政府人员一起工作。

But really what they're doing is they're showing what's possible

但他们真正的目的是展现今天科技

with technology today.

可以创造的可能性。

So meet Al.

这是Al。

Al is a fire hydrant in the city of Boston.

Al是一个伯斯顿市内的消防栓。

Here it kind of looks like he's looking for a date,

这里看起来它似乎是在等它的约会，

but what he's really looking for is for someone to shovel him out when he gets snowed in,

但它真正等待的是一个可以将它被深埋在雪下的时候可以将它挖出来的人，

because he knows he's not very good at fighting fires

因为它知道当它被四英尺的雪埋入时，

when he's covered in four feet of snow.

它救火的能力就会下降。

Now how did he come to be looking for help

它是如何用这样一种特殊的方式

in this very unique manner?

来寻求帮助的呢？

We had a team of fellows in Boston last year

去年我们“美国代码”

through the Code for America program.

有个在伯斯顿工作的团队。

They were there in February, and it snowed a lot in February last year.

他们在的时候正值二月，而去年二月雪下得很多很大。

And they noticed that the city never gets

他们注意到这个城市的

to digging out these fire hydrants.

消防栓很少会被挖出。

But one fellow in particular,

那个团队的其中一个人，

a guy named Erik Michaels-Ober,

叫Erik Michaels-Ober，

noticed something else,

留意到了另外一个现象：

and that's that citizens are shoveling out sidewalks

市民们会将这些消防栓

right in front of these things.

前面的走道上的雪铲除。

So he did what any good developer would do,

所以他做了任何一个优秀的程序员都会做的事情，

he wrote an app.

他写了一个应用程序。

It's a cute little app where you can adopt a fire hydrant.

这是一个可以让你领养一个消防栓的可爱简易的程序。

So you agree to dig it out when it snows.

然后你同意会在下雪后将它挖出。

If you do, you get to name it,

如果你这么做了，你可以为它取个名字；

and he called the first one Al.

他叫了这第一个Al。

And if you don't, someone can steal it from you.

但如果你不将它挖出，其他人可以将它从你那儿偷走。

So it's got cute little game dynamics on it.

所以它有一些小小的娱乐性质在里面。

This is a modest little app.

这是一个相对来说比较小的程序，

It's probably the smallest

它或许是那个团队那年

of the 21 apps that the fellows wrote last year.

所写的二十一个程序中最小的一个。

But it's doing something

但它做到了

that no other government technology does.

任何其他政府科技无法做到的事情；

It's spreading virally.

它像病毒一样传开了。

There's a guy in the I.T. department of the City of Honolulu

一个在夏威夷檀香山市的IT部门上班的人

who saw this app and realized

看到了这个程序，然后意识到

that he could use it, not for snow,

它不一定要用它来铲雪，

but to get citizens to adopt tsunami sirens.

也可以用它让市民领养海啸警报器。

It's very important that these tsunami sirens work,

这些海啸警报器的功能很重要，

but people steal the batteries out of them.

但往往有人会偷那里面的电池。

So he's getting citizens to check on them.

所以他让市民们主动去检查它们。

And then Seattle decided to use it

然后西雅图决定用它

to get citizens to clear out clogged storm drains.

让市民清理暴雨后杜塞的下水道口。

And Chicago just rolled it out

芝加哥才开始

to get people to sign up to shovel sidewalks when it snows.

用它让人们将走道上的雪铲除。

So we now know of nine cities

我们现在知道还有九个城市

that are planning to use this.

计划使用它。

And this has spread just frictionlessly,

它就这样平稳地，有机地，自然地，

organically, naturally.

散布了开来。

If you know anything about government technology,

如果你对政府的科技有些了解，

you know that this isn't how it normally goes.

你会知道这并不是普遍的结果。

Procuring software usually takes a couple of years.

开发完成一个软件往往需要几年。

We had a team that worked on a project in Boston last year

去年我们在伯斯顿有一个

that took three people about two and a half months.

三个人的团队花了两个半月完成了一个项目。

It was a way that parents could figure out

它可以帮助家长决定

which were the right public schools for their kids.

哪一个公立学校对他们的孩子最适合。

We were told afterward that if that had gone through normal channels,

之后，我们被告知，如果这个项目通过正常的渠道，

it would have taken at least two years

它将需要至少两年的时间，

and it would have cost about two million dollars.

并会花费将近两百万美元左右。

And that's nothing.

而这只是一个小数字。

There is one project in the California court system right now

加利福尼亚的法院系统正有一个

that so far cost taxpayers

至今花费了纳税人

two billion dollars,

二十亿美元的一个项目，

and it doesn't work.

而它还并不能正常运作。

And there are projects like this

而在政府的每一个阶级

at every level of government.

都有类似的种种项目。

So an app that takes a couple of days to write

所以一个只需要几天来编程，

and then spreads virally,

并像病毒般散布的程序，

that's sort of a shot across the bow

对政府机构来说

to the institution of government.

是一个警钟。

It suggests how government could work better --

它见证了政府可以变得更有效率 -

not more like a private company,

但不是更像私有公司，

as many people think it should.

像很多人觉得的那样。

And not even like a tech company,

甚至不像一个科技公司，

but more like the Internet itself.

而更像网络本身。

And that means permissionless,

这意味着无须批准，

it means open, it means generative.

公开，多产。

And that's important.

而这非常重要。

But what's more important about this app

但这种程序所代表的，更重要的，

is that it represents how a new generation

是新一代的人

is tackling the problem of government --

将政府的问题

not as the problem of an ossified institution,

当作团体行动的问题来寻求解决方式，

but as a problem of collective action.

而并不是一个死板的机构。

And that's great news,

而这是很好的信息，

because, it turns out, we're very good at collective action

因为，事实表明，我们在对于数码技术

with digital technology.

的团体运行非常擅长。

Now there's a very large community of people

现在已经有一个非常大的团体

that are building the tools that we need

在建造可以让我们做事

to do things together effectively.

更加有效率的工具。

It's not just Code for America fellows,

它不仅仅是“美国代码”的员工们，

there are hundreds of people all over the country

全国有几百个人

that are standing and writing civic apps

每天在自己的社区中编写程序

every day in their own communities.

并将其致用在他们自己的社区。

They haven't given up on government.

他们没有放弃政府。

They are frustrated as hell with it,

虽然他们对此非常失望，

but they're not complaining about it,

但他们并没有抱怨，

they're fixing it.

而在尝试着改善它。

And these folks know something

这些人知道一些

that we've lost sight of.

我们已经失去的东西，

And that's that when you strip away all your feelings

那就是，当你剥开一切

about politics and the line at the DMV

让我们愤怒的外壳，

and all those other things

比如我们对政治的感觉，

that we're really mad about,

和在车辆管理局外的长队，

government is, at its core,

政府，在其中心，

in the words of Tim O'Reilly,

用提姆·奥莱理的话说，

"What we do together that we can't do alone."

“政府能帮我们达成我们一个人无法达成的事情。”

Now a lot of people have given up on government.

现在有很多人都对政府完全灰了心。

And if you're one of those people,

如果你是他们其中的一个，

I would ask that you reconsider,

我希望你能重新考虑下，

because things are changing.

因为很多事情都在改变。

Politics is not changing;

政治没有改变，

government is changing.

但政府正在改变。

And because government

而因为政府的能量，

ultimately derives its power from us --

从最根本上

remember "We the people?" --

来自于我们人民，

how we think about it

我们如何看待它

is going to effect how that change happens.

将会影响到它的改变。

Now I didn't know very much about government when I started this program.

当我开始这个项目的时候我对政府所知不多。

And like a lot of people,

就像很多人，

I thought government was basically about getting people elected to office.

我以为政府仅仅是选举人员进入部门工作。

Well after two years, I've come to the conclusion

两年后，我得到了一个结论。

that, especially local government,

政府，特别是地方政府，

is about opossums.

是关于负鼠.

This is the call center for the services and information line.

这里是服务和信息的电话热线中心。

It's generally where you will get

如果你在你的城市拨打311，

if you call 311 in your city.

你将会被连接到这里。

If you should ever have the chance

如果你会有机会

to staff your city's call center,

在你的市热线中心工作，

as our fellow Scott Silverman did as part of the program --

像我们项目的同事Scott Silverman就做这个 -

in fact, they all do that --

事实上，他们都需要做这项服务 -

you will find that people call government

你就会发现人们为了非常不同的问题

with a very wide range of issues,

打电话给政府咨询，

including having an opossum stuck in your house.

包括家中困入了一个负鼠。

So Scott gets this call.

Scott 接到了这通电话。

He types "Opossum" into this official knowledge base.

他将“负鼠”输入了官方的信息库。

He doesn't really come up with anything. He starts with animal control.

什么都没有。他从动物控制中心开始。

And finally, he says, "Look, can you just open all the doors to your house

而最后，他说：“这样吧，你可以将你家的门全部打开，

and play music really loud

然后放起很大声的音乐，

and see if the thing leaves?"

然后看看这东西会不会离开？”

So that worked. So booya for Scott.

而这起了作用。 Scott，好样的。

But that wasn't the end of the opossums.

但这并不是负鼠故事的结尾。

Boston doesn't just have a call center.

波斯顿没有热线中心。

It has an app, a Web and mobile app,

它有一个程序，一个网站和移动的程序，

called Citizens Connect.

叫做 “市民联通”。

Now we didn't write this app.

我们没有编写这个程序。

This is the work of the very smart people

它是一群在波斯顿的

at the Office of New Urban Mechanics in Boston.

新城市结构部门的很聪明的人编写的。

So one day -- this is an actual report -- this came in:

有一天 - 这是一个真实的报告 - 这个信息被贴了出来：

"Opossum in my trashcan. Can't tell if it's dead.

“垃圾桶里有一个负鼠。看不出来它是否死了。

How do I get this removed?"

我怎样才能把它弄掉？”

But what happens with Citizens Connect is different.

“市民联通”对这种问题有不同的处理方式。

So Scott was speaking person-to-person.

Scott之前是人对人的交流。

But on Citizens Connect everything is public,

但在“市民联通”上面一切都是公开的，

so everybody can see this.

所以每个人都可以看见。

And in this case, a neighbor saw it.

这一次，一个邻居看到了。

And the next report we got said,

我们收到的下一份报告写着：

"I walked over to this location,

“我路过了这个地点，

found the trashcan behind the house.

找到了房子后面的垃圾桶。

Opossum? Check. Living? Yep.

负鼠? 看到了。的确活着。

Turned trashcan on its side. Walked home.

将垃圾桶放倒，走回家。

Goodnight sweet opossum."

晚安，小负鼠。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Pretty simple.

就这么简单。

So this is great. This is the digital meeting the physical.

所以这很好。这就是现实和数码世界的交汇。

And it's also a great example

这也是政府加入

of government getting in on the crowd-sourcing game.

众包游戏的一个很好的例子。

But it's also a great example of government as a platform.

但这也是一个由政府来做交流平台的很好的例子。

And I don't mean necessarily

而在这里我并不是

a technological definition of platform here.

在说平台的技术层面的定义。

I'm just talking about a platform for people

我只是想提到一个可以让

to help themselves and to help others.

人们互相帮助的平台。

So one citizen helped another citizen,

一个公民帮助另外一个公民，

but government played a key role here.

而政府在其中扮演重要的角色。

It connected those two people.

它将两个人连系了起来。

And it could have connected them with government services if they'd been needed,

它可以通过政府设施服务来帮助需要的人，

but a neighbor is a far better and cheaper alternative

但一个邻居远比政府服务

to government services.

简单和见效。

When one neighbor helps another,

当一个邻居帮助另外一个的时候，

we strengthen our communities.

我们的社会联系也会加强。

We call animal control, it just costs a lot of money.

我们打电话给动物控制中心的话，只会花很多的钱。

Now one of the important things we need to think about government

一个我们需要思考的很重要的事情

is that it's not the same thing as politics.

便是政府并不同于政治。

And most people get that,

很多人明白这点，

but they think that one is the input to the other.

但他们仍然认为政治是政府的输入口。

That our input to the system of government

我们对政府系统的输入口是

is voting.

通过选票。

Now how many times have we elected a political leader --

至今为止，我们选了多少政治领袖 -

and sometimes we spend a lot of energy

而有些时候我们会花大量的精力

getting a new political leader elected --

来支持一个新的政治领袖的选举 -

and then we sit back and we expect government

然后我们期望着政府做一些

to reflect our values and meet our needs,

反映我们价值观和我们的需要的事情，

and then not that much changes?

但最后没有多少改变发生？

That's because government is like a vast ocean

那是因为政府就像一片巨大的海洋，

and politics is the six-inch layer on top.

而政治只是最顶上的一层。

And what's under that

下面的便是

is what we call bureaucracy.

我们所谓的官僚机构。

And we say that word with such contempt.

我们用如此鄙夷的语气谈论这个词。

But it's that contempt

但正是这种鄙夷

that keeps this thing that we own

保持了这个我们拥有

and we pay for

并为其付钱维持的东西

as something that's working against us, this other thing,

一直与我们的愿望背道而驰，

and then we're disempowering ourselves.

而由此我们正失去我们自己的能量。

People seem to think politics is sexy.

人们似乎认为政治很性感。

If we want this institution to work for us,

如果我们希望这个部门来为我们服务，

we're going to have to make bureaucracy sexy.

我们必须要让官僚机构也变得性感。

Because that's where the real work of government happens.

因为政府的真正工作在那里发生。

We have to engage with the machinery of government.

我们必须参与政府的系统。

So that's OccupytheSEC movement has done.

而这正是占领美国证券交易委员会（OccupytheSEC）运动做的。

Have you seen these guys?

你见过这些人吗？

It's a group of concerned citizens

他们是一群忧心忡忡的公民

that have written a very detailed

他们写了一份非常详细的，

325-page report

325页的报告

that's a response to the SEC's request for comment

来回应美国证券交易委员会SEC

on the Financial Reform Bill.

对于金融改革法案的要求。

That's not being politically active,

这不是参与政治，

that's being bureaucratically active.

而是积极参与到官僚机构中。

Now for those of us who've given up on government,

现在，对于我们之间的已经放弃了政府的人，

it's time that we asked ourselves

是时候问我们自己

about the world that we want to leave for our children.

我们希望留下怎样的世界给我们的孩子。

You have to see the enormous challenges

大家必须意识到他们需要

that they're going to face.

面对巨大的挑战。

Do we really think we're going to get where we need to go

在我们没有改善好这个可以

without fixing the one institution

代表我们行动的机构之前，

that can act on behalf of all of us?

我们真的认为我们可以达到我们想要达到的目标吗？

We can't do without government,

我们不能没有政府，

but we do need it

我们需要它

to be more effective.

变得更有效率。

The good news is that technology is making it possible

好的消息是，科技正使这变得可行

to fundamentally reframe

在本质上重新定义

the function of government

政府的功能

in a way that can actually scale

而通过它我们可以

by strengthening civil society.

来加强我们的公民社会。

And there's a generation out there that's grown up on the Internet,

现在的一代正在网络中长大，

and they know that it's not that hard

而他们知道

to do things together,

同时做一件事情并不难，

you just have to architect the systems the right way.

只需要将系统建构好。

Now the average age of our fellows is 28,

我们的工作人员的平均年龄是28岁，

so I am, begrudgingly,

所以我，很不甘的，

almost a generation older than most of them.

几乎比他们大部分老了一代。

This is a generation

这一代

that's grown up taking their voices pretty much for granted.

在长大中已经习惯代言他们自身。

They're not fighting that battle that we're all fighting

他们不再需要经历我们那一代关于

about who gets to speak;

谁可以拥有言论自由的战斗；

they all get to speak.

他们都拥有言论自由。

They can express their opinion

他们可以通过任何渠道

on any channel at any time,

在任何时间表达他们的意见，

and they do.

他们也的确这么做。

So when they're faced with the problem of government,

所以当他们面对政府的瑕疵时，

they don't care as much

他们不怎么关心

about using their voices.

用他们的话语权来代言。

They're using their hands.

他们会使用他们的双手。

They're using their hands

他们正在使用他们的双手

to write applications that make government work better.

来编写可以让政府更好地运作的程序。

And those applications let us use our hands

而这些程序让我们用我们自己的双手

to make our communities better.

来完善我们的社会。

That could be shoveling out a hydrant, pulling a weed,

它可以是将消防栓从雪中挖出，将杂草拔除，

turning over a garbage can with an opossum in it.

或将有负鼠的垃圾桶放倒。

And certainly, we could have been shoveling out those fire hydrants all along,

当然，很多人早就开始将消防栓

and many people do.

从雪中挖出了。

But these apps are like little digital reminders

但这些程序就如同小数字闹钟，可以提醒

that we're not just consumers,

我们不光是作为消费者。

and we're not just consumers of government,

我们也不仅仅是政府的消费对象，

putting in our taxes and getting back services.

缴税而换回服务。

We're more than that,

我们不光是这些，

we're citizens.

我们还是公民。

And we're not going to fix government

在改善政府之前，

until we fix citizenship.

我们必须承担我们作为公民的责任。

So the question I have for all of you here:

所以在这里我留给大家一个问题：

When it comes to the big, important things

当我们面对一些很大的，很重要的，

that we need to do together,

并需要我们齐心协力一起做

all of us together,

事情的时候，

are we just going to be a crowd of voices,

我们会只是有话语权的一群人，

or are we also going to be

还是我们

a crowd of hands?

也会是众手协力而成事的一群人？

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）