Karoli Hindriks: Why the passport needs an upgrade | TED

譯者: Yolanda Fang 審譯者: Val Zhang

I grew up in Estonia under Soviet occupation.

我在蘇聯佔領下的愛沙尼亞長大。

這是被鎖在鐵幕後的國家。

In a country locked up behind the thick wall of the Iron Curtain.

Back then, where everything,

那時所有物資──

including bread, socks and underwear was a luxury,

包括麵包、襪子和內衣都是奢侈品，

I did not dream about the open world.

我從未夢想過開放的世界。

Because you see,

因為──

some walls are so thick and borders so closed,

有些牆很厚，國界如此封閉，

that even dreams and ideas can't travel.

甚至夢想和想法都無法流動。

However, having lived in that level of darkness made me wonder

然而黯淡的生活經驗令我思索：

why are borders and movement between countries

既有國界與移民架構的成因。

constructed the way they are.

According to the World Economic Forum,

根據世界經濟論壇，

human capital is the driving force for economic growth.

人力資本是經濟成長的動力。

So why are the barriers to global mobility so high?

但為何全球流動性的障礙甚高？

Why is the process so time-consuming,

為何這過程如此耗時，

so dreadful and daunting, so very scary?

如此糟糕、令人恐懼及恐怖？

And I know it’s scary,

我知道這很恐怖，

because I was detained at San Francisco airport for two hours

因為我在舊金山機場 被扣留了兩小時，

just to get on the stage.

只為了登上這講臺。

It was the idea

人們的跨境不應如此困難的想法，

that the cross-border movement of people shouldn't be so difficult

that sparked my inspiration for a future of frictionless,

激發了我對未來的想像：

人們不論出生地，都能無礙、 自由地移動，不受國界限制。

borderless mobility for all,

regardless where they are born.

We are building a universal digital identity

我們正為跨國移動建立 全球通用的數位身分證。

for cross-border movement.

One where people own their data

人們將主宰其資料，

and can seamlessly relocate anywhere they want

面對最少的阻力，無縫地自由移居。

with minimal friction.

One which would eventually allow individuals,

最終將使每個人──

from highly-skilled professionals to refugees seeking safety,

無論是高度專業的人才， 或是尋求庇護的難民──

to start, track and get approval for their immigration process

移民的流程從頭到尾，

without having to print out a single piece of paper.

皆為無紙化作業。

And we are not alone.

我們不是孤軍奮戰，

Companies and countries around the world have started to leverage technology

世界各地的國家和公司 已經開始運用科技，

in order to ease the complexity of immigration.

來降低移民流程的複雜性。

By doing so, we are expanding opportunities across borders

我們正藉此擴大跨境的機會，

and through that, helping to build a richer world.

藉此協助打造更富有的世界。

In 2017, the Economist magazine stated there's one seemingly simple policy

2017 年《經濟學人》指出有個看似簡單的政策，

that would make the world twice as rich as it is.

將使世界的產值翻倍──

Open borders.

開放國界。

Economist Michael Clemens

全球發展中心的經濟學家 麥可·克萊門斯似乎同意這觀點，

from the Center of Global Development seems to agree

as he claims that barriers to immigration place one of the fattest of all wedges

因為他稱：移民的層層藩籬

是人類既有與潛在福祉間 最大的阻礙之一。

between humankind's current welfare

and potential welfare.

But you know what?

但你知道嗎？

The problem starts from what we call a passport,

問題就出在我們稱之為「護照」的東西，

which was first introduced

護照始於第一次世界大戰， 作為全球共通的旅行證件。

as a globally required travel document during World War I,

slightly after Henry Ford introduced the first affordable automobiles.

時間大約在亨利．福特推出 首輛經濟型汽車之後。

Today, our cars have come a long way.

如今汽車已取得長足的進步。

We have come from model Ts to Teslas.

從福特T型車到特斯拉。

But our passports look and work pretty much the same way as a century ago.

但護照不論形式或功能， 幾乎和上個世紀相同。

Besides the lack of technology,

除了物件未採納科技，

there was also a flaw in the way the passport system was built.

護照系統的架構方式也存在缺陷。

The modern passport was designed by a Western-centric organization

當今的護照是第一次世界 大戰後以西方為思考而設計。

after the First World War.

It became an object of freedom for the advantaged,

它對多數西方先進國家 而言，是自由的象徵，

mostly Western countries,

but a burden for others.

卻也成了他國的負擔。

The irony is that today

諷刺的是，護照對西方 經濟體的幫助已式微。

the passport doesn't even help those same Western economies anymore,

because you see, when in the past a good passport could indicate

過去一本好的護照可代表

a person coming from a Western country with a good education system

這人來自西方國家，受過良好教育，

and thus useful skills,

因此身懷相當技能。

then in 2020, the World Economic Forum reported

然而 2020 年世界經濟論壇報導：

that the top three countries

高學歷移民主要來自三個國家：

where the highly educated migrants came from

were India, China and Philippines.

印度、中國和菲律賓──

Which, according to 2021 Henley Passport Index

2021 年「亨氏護照指數」顯示，

ranked among the least travel-friendly passports in the world

這些國家在好用的 護照排名中敬陪末座，

ranking respectively 85th,

在 110 個國家中分別 位居第 85、70 和 77 名。

70th and 77th out of 110.

So let's take a look at a recent relocation experience

讓我們看看專業人才 伊布特哈爾，最近的轉調經驗。

by a highly skilled specialist called Ibtehal.

Ibtehal is a divorced single mother with full custody rights for her kids,

伊布特哈爾是位離婚的單親媽媽，

有六歲兒子肯南和八歲 女兒塔瑪拉的單獨監護權。

six-year-old boy Kenan and an eight-year-old girl Tamara.

All of them are Yemeni citizens,

他們都是葉門公民。

which, according to Henley Passport Index 2021,

2021 年「亨氏護照指數」顯示：

ranks 106 out of 110.

葉門在 110 個國家中排於第 106 位。

Again, one of the least travel-friendly passports in the world.

又是世上最難用的護照之一。

The Malaysian tech company that employed Ibtehal

雇用伊布特哈爾的馬來西亞科技公司，

wanted to transfer her and her family to their European office.

盼將她及其家人調到歐洲辦公室。

The immigration authorities let her know that her visa would get approved,

移民局告知：她本人的簽證可獲得批准。

but her underage kids would not get their visas right away.

但她未成年的孩子們不會馬上得到簽證。

Instead, she was required to travel 6,000 miles alone to the embassy

她被要求前往六千英里外的大使館

to apply for her visa.

去申請她的簽證。

Then travel back to Malaysia, wait for three months,

然後再返回馬來西亞等三個月，

then travel back again,

接著再回來，這次為孩子申請簽證。

this time with her kids to apply for their visas.

And only after that could they all go and live in the destination country.

只有在簽證辦妥之後， 他們才能移居新國度。

Stories like this are not the exception.

像這樣的故事並非例外。

It is a pretty accurate reflection of the immigration experiences today,

它相當準確地反映了當下的移民經歷，

and this is exactly the kind of hideous problem that I want to solve.

而這正是我想解決的可怕問題。

And I know it can be solved

我知道這可被解決，

because I have seen the Estonian society transform

因為我看過愛沙尼亞社會

from one of the poorest countries in the world

從世界上最貧窮的國家之一

to an open and democratic one that not only functions but thrives

轉變為開放和民主的國家，它不僅能運作，

並躍身為以科技驅動治理和創新的代表。

as a poster child for technology-driven governance and innovation.

One of the keys to Estonia's success in digitalization was the focus

愛沙尼亞數位化成功的關鍵之一

to build one platform called the X-Road,

是建構名為 X-Road 的平臺，

the backbone of digital Estonia.

這是愛沙尼亞數位化的核心。

The key to it is one digital identity for each individual

其中的關鍵是，自然人的數位身分證

that allows public and private databases to link up and operate in harmony.

能在公有與私有資料庫串連並和諧運行。

Estonians can do everything online,

愛沙尼亞人可以在線上完成所有事，

other than get married or divorced.

除了結婚或離婚以外。

Anything from doing taxes to voting in the elections

從納稅到選舉投票，

is securely done online

任何事情都可以在網上安全完成。

and takes about the same time as checking your Instagram account.

這和你滑 Instagram 所花的時間差不多。

The digitalization saves Estonia a stack of paper

數位化能為愛沙尼亞每月節省

像艾菲爾鐵塔一樣高的紙。

as high as the Eiffel Tower every month.

On top of that, according to Siim Sikkut,

最重要的是，

據愛沙尼亞資訊長 西姆．西克庫特──

the chief information officer of Estonia,

the digital signature alone

僅「數位簽章」一項，

enables Estonia to save two percent of its GDP every year.

愛沙尼亞每年可節省 國內生產毛額的 2 %。

Two percent of GDP globally would be 1.7 trillion dollars.

而世界生產毛額的 2 % 將是 1.7 兆美元。

With that amount of money, we could solve world hunger not once,

這筆錢可解決世界飢荒問題，

不只 1 次，而是一年 56 次。

56 times every year.

That's a whole lot of money being wasted

大筆錢就這樣被浪費了，

because public sectors are not adapting to existing technologies.

僅因公部門未跟上當今的科技。

We can tackle that by creating a secure,

我們能通過創建安全、

universal digital identity

通用的數位身分證解決這個問題。

where all the users need to do is upload their data and documents

使用者僅需上傳資料和證件，

such as passport, marriage and education certificates

如護照、結婚和教育證書到智慧系統，

into our smart system,

which then converts that data into pieces

然後將這些資料轉換為與 不同國家的行政表格匹配的片段。

that can be matched to relevant government forms in different countries.

The beauty of it is the once-only rule.

它的美好之處在於「僅一次」的原則。

The user needs to add their data once

使用者僅需要輸入一次資料，

as it is then stored for the future use.

這些資料就會被存儲，以供將來使用。

The passport was created as a mechanism to move.

護照是為了移動而設計。

It is clearly time to modernize that mechanism.

現在已然是將此機制現代化的時候。

If we could now connect that same digital identity

若現在能夠將同樣的數位身分證

to government systems worldwide,

與世界各地的政府系統連接起來，

our system could act as a digital passport

我們的系統可以作為數位護照，

and with a click of a button,

只要點擊一個按鈕，

immigration applications are created, submitted and digitally tracked.

移民申請便已建立、提交及自動化追蹤。

Imagine never to have to fill any immigration forms ever again.

想像一下，再也不必填任何移民表格了。

In order for that to happen,

為了做到這一點，

we need government immigration systems to enable a simple integration,

政府的移民系統得允許簡單的整合，

which would allow us to push applications and pull back the status.

使我們能加快申請或撤回進度。

Today, our system is able to do all that beautiful automation,

如今我們的系統能夠 非常完美地進行自動化，

but to get that digital information to government systems worldwide,

但要將數位資訊傳遞到全球的政府系統，

ton of paper needs to be printed out

需要列印出大量的紙張，

and a human at an immigration office needs to type everything in again.

然後移民辦公室的人需要 再次輸入所有內容。

In Germany, officials are so busy typing in applications

在德國，行政人員忙於輸入申請表，

that it can take up to a year to even get an appointment,

人們連預約移民都要花上一年。

at a time where Germany is experiencing a deep talent crunch.

而此刻，德國正面臨 嚴重的人才短缺。

That is not just an inefficient system,

這不僅只是低效率的作業，

not a harmless bit of bureaucracy,

也非無害的官僚風格，

it is actively working against itself.

既有作法正損害著德國。

Four years ago, when traveling to New York City from Europe

四年前我從歐洲前往紐約，

with my then four-year-old daughter Maya,

帶著當時四歲的女兒瑪雅，

I briefed her what to expect at the border and why.

我向她介紹在邊境的流程及其因。

When we finally got to the border,

當我們終於到達邊境時，

this was her look that the machine captured.

這是當時機器捕捉到她的樣子。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I think it was the most authentic look how we humans feel

我認為這是人們對 跨國遷徙最真實的感受。

about immigration globally.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Last year, through a small digitalization with Berlin immigration authorities,

去年，與柏林移民局 的小型數位化合作，

my team managed to shorten a process that was 90 days into two days.

我的團隊順利地將 90 天 的流程，縮短為 2 天。

Think about what a person can do in 88 days.

試想一個人在 88 天裡能做多少事。

Your passport describes you as a resident of your country.

現在的護照稱你為──該國公民，

We say you're a citizen of the world.

我們說──你是世界公民。

A universal digital passport,

一本通用的數位化護照，

one that would go beyond borders,

會超越國界，

will take us towards a world where crossing borders

將帶我們走向──

跨越國界不再耗時耗力的世界。

is not about waste of time or waste of resources.

Think about these 88 days

想想那省下的 88 天，

and how much actual life can fit into it.

生命將有多少可能。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）