Jennifer Pahlka: Coding a better government

譯者: Michelle Fan 審譯者: Oliver Hsieh

So a couple of years ago I started a program

幾年前我發起一項計畫

to try to get the rockstar tech and design people

要超級科技人才和明星設計師

to take a year off

休假一年

and work in the one environment

在另一個環境工作

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

這個環境幾乎代表了他們所痛恨的每一樣東西

we have them work in government.

就是我們的政府

The program is called Code for America,

這個計畫叫做美國程式碼

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

類似和平部隊 不過隊員都是怪咖

We select a few fellows every year

我們每年選擇幾個人

and we have them work with city governments.

要他們替市政府工作

Instead of sending them off into the Third World,

他們沒被送去第三世界

we send them into the wilds of City Hall.

反而進入了市政廳的險惡叢林

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

他們在那裡做出超讚的應用程式 和市府職員一起工作

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

但真正重要的是 他們展現出一種可能性

with technology today.

當今科技的可能性

So meet Al.

這是艾爾

Al is a fire hydrant in the city of Boston.

艾爾是波士頓市裡的消防栓之一

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

照片裡它看起來有點像想找個伴

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

但其實它真正想要的是有人能在它被大雪掩埋時 把它挖出來

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

因為它知道 儘管它有打火英雄的潛力

when he's covered in four feet of snow.

當被埋在四呎深的雪中時 也無用武之地

Now how did he come to be looking for help

那它現在這個德性

in this very unique manner?

要怎麼尋求幫助？

We had a team of fellows in Boston last year

我們去年在波士頓組了一支團隊

through the Code for America program.

是美國程式碼(Code for America)計畫工作的一環

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

去年二月波士頓大雪紛飛時 這支團隊就在那裡

And they noticed that the city never gets

他們注意到市政府從未採取行動

to digging out these fire hydrants.

把這些消防栓挖出來

But one fellow in particular,

其中一位隊員

a guy named Erik Michaels-Ober,

名叫艾瑞克‧麥克歐寶

noticed something else,

注意到其他事情

and that's that citizens are shoveling out sidewalks

就是市民會剷除人行道上的積雪

right in front of these things.

把消防栓前面的地面清出來

So he did what any good developer would do,

所以他就做了一位優秀開發員會做的事

he wrote an app.

他寫了一個應用程式

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

一個很可愛的程式 讓你可以認養某個消防栓

So you agree to dig it out when it snows.

表示當它被雪埋起來時 你願意把它挖出來

If you do, you get to name it,

如果你願意 就可以替它取名字

and he called the first one Al.

他就把第一個消防栓命名為艾爾

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

如果你不願意 別人就可以把它偷走

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

因此這個程式也帶點遊戲的趣味

This is a modest little app.

它是一個很普通的小應用程式

It's probably the smallest

可能是這個團隊

of the 21 apps that the fellows wrote last year.

去年寫的21個應用程式中最小的

But it's doing something

但是它的功用

that no other government technology does.

卻在其他政府科技中獨樹一格

It's spreading virally.

它像病毒一樣四處傳播

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

檀香山市的IT部門有個員工

who saw this app and realized

看到這個應用程式

that he could use it, not for snow,

發現它大有用處，而不只是用在積雪

but to get citizens to adopt tsunami sirens.

而是讓市民認養海嘯警報器

It's very important that these tsunami sirens work,

這些海嘯警報器非常重要 一定要運作正常

but people steal the batteries out of them.

但是有人會偷走機器中的電池

So he's getting citizens to check on them.

因此他讓市民去查看電池

And then Seattle decided to use it

接著西雅圖決定用這個程式

to get citizens to clear out clogged storm drains.

讓市民清理堵塞的排水孔

And Chicago just rolled it out

然後芝加哥才剛採用這個程式

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

讓市民登記在下雪時把人行道清出來

So we now know of nine cities

因此我們已知有九個城市

that are planning to use this.

正計畫要利用這個應用程式

And this has spread just frictionlessly,

它暢行無阻地四處傳播

organically, naturally.

自然而然 充滿生氣

If you know anything about government technology,

如果你對政府科技有一點概念

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

就會知道它通常不是這麼運作的

Procuring software usually takes a couple of years.

開發軟體通常要花一兩年

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

我們有個團隊去年在波士頓進行一項計畫

that took three people about two and a half months.

團隊共三人 花了兩個半月的時間

It was a way that parents could figure out

這個計畫是讓家長能找出

which were the right public schools for their kids.

哪一所公立學校適合他們的小孩

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

我們後來得知 如果是依照正常的管道

it would have taken at least two years

可能會需要至少兩年

and it would have cost about two million dollars.

花費大約200萬美金

And that's nothing.

這還不算什麼

There is one project in the California court system right now

加州法庭系統裡有一項計畫

that so far cost taxpayers

到目前為止已經讓納稅人

two billion dollars,

付了20億元

and it doesn't work.

但是它一點用也沒有

And there are projects like this

這種計畫

at every level of government.

充斥在各階層的政府

So an app that takes a couple of days to write

因此只要花幾天就可以寫出來的應用程式

and then spreads virally,

像病毒一樣四散

that's sort of a shot across the bow

對政府機構而言

to the institution of government.

就像平地一聲雷

It suggests how government could work better --

它建議政府怎樣才能更有效地運作

not more like a private company,

不是像許多人認為的

as many people think it should.

要更像私人企業

And not even like a tech company,

或甚至是科技公司

but more like the Internet itself.

而是要更像網路本身

And that means permissionless,

意思是說不需要經過誰的批准

it means open, it means generative.

一個開放 具有生產力的環境

And that's important.

這一點很重要

But what's more important about this app

但更重要的是 這個應用程式

is that it represents how a new generation

代表了新的世代

is tackling the problem of government --

如何探究政府問題的解決方式

not as the problem of an ossified institution,

解決問題不再只靠僵化的體制

but as a problem of collective action.

而是集體行動

And that's great news,

這真是大好消息

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

因為我們發現 我們其實善於集體行動

with digital technology.

有了數位科技就更容易

Now there's a very large community of people

現今有一大群人

that are building the tools that we need

在製造我們需要的工具

to do things together effectively.

讓合作可以更有效

It's not just Code for America fellows,

不只是美國程式碼(Code for America)的成員

there are hundreds of people all over the country

全國各地有上百人

that are standing and writing civic apps

不斷地撰寫市民用的應用程式

every day in their own communities.

每天都對自己的社區做出貢獻

They haven't given up on government.

他們沒有放棄政府

They are frustrated as hell with it,

雖然他們對於政府非常失望

but they're not complaining about it,

但並沒有抱怨連連

they're fixing it.

而是設法改正它

And these folks know something

這些人知道的某些事情

that we've lost sight of.

是我們看不到的

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

你得要擺脫所有關於政治

about politics and the line at the DMV

和在監理處大排長龍時的情緒

and all those other things

以及所有其他

that we're really mad about,

讓人火冒三丈的事情

government is, at its core,

那時你就會看到 政府的核心

in the words of Tim O'Reilly,

就像提姆‧奧萊理所說的

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

是「合眾人之力完成個人力有未逮之事」

Now a lot of people have given up on government.

現今有許多人已經對政府不抱希望

And if you're one of those people,

如果你是其中之一

I would ask that you reconsider,

我要請你再好好考慮

because things are changing.

因為如今時代正在改變

Politics is not changing;

政治沒有改變

government is changing.

但政府正在改頭換面

And because government

因為政府

ultimately derives its power from us --

得其權利於人民

remember "We the people?" --

記得「民治」的民就是我們嗎？

how we think about it

我們對政府的觀感

is going to effect how that change happens.

將影響改變發生的方式

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

我剛發起計畫時 對政府所知不多

And like a lot of people,

和許多人一樣

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

我以為政府基本上就是選出官員擔任公職

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

兩年後 我得到結論

that, especially local government,

政府 尤其是地方政府

is about opossums.

就是在管負鼠(註：一種約家貓大小的有袋動物)

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

這是服務資訊專線的客服中心

It's generally where you will get

基本上就是

if you call 311 in your city.

你打311會接到的地方

If you should ever have the chance

如果你有機會

to staff your city's call center,

在你住的城市的客服中心工作

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

就像我們的史考特‧斯維曼參與計畫時所做的一樣

in fact, they all do that --

其實他們都有去客服中心

you will find that people call government

就會發現 大家打電話給政府

with a very wide range of issues,

原因千奇百怪

including having an opossum stuck in your house.

包括有負鼠在屋裡時也打

So Scott gets this call.

所以史考特接到這通電話

He types "Opossum" into this official knowledge base.

在官方知識庫裡輸入「負鼠」

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

不過沒有查到什麼 接著他打給動物管理中心

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

最後他說：「聽著 你去把屋裡的門通通打開

and play music really loud

把音樂開大聲一點

and see if the thing leaves?"

看看牠會不會離開？」

So that worked. So booya for Scott.

這招成功了 有你的 史考特

But that wasn't the end of the opossums.

但負鼠的故事還沒完

Boston doesn't just have a call center.

波士頓不只有客服中心

It has an app, a Web and mobile app,

還有應用程式 網路和行動應用程式

called Citizens Connect.

叫做「市民逗陣來」

Now we didn't write this app.

這個程式不是我們寫的

This is the work of the very smart people

這是聰明人的傑作

at the Office of New Urban Mechanics in Boston.

波士頓新都市技術部的人寫的

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

跟各位分享一則真實報導 某天有一則訊息：

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

「我家垃圾桶裡有負鼠 不知道是死的還活的

How do I get this removed?"

要怎麼把牠弄出去？」

But what happens with Citizens Connect is different.

有了"市民逗陣來" 一切大不相同

So Scott was speaking person-to-person.

史考特的例子 是一對一交談

But on Citizens Connect everything is public,

但"市民逗陣來"上所有的資訊都是公開的

so everybody can see this.

因此每個人都看得見

And in this case, a neighbor saw it.

剛剛那則訊息 有個鄰居看到了

And the next report we got said,

然後我們看到的下一則訊息

"I walked over to this location,

「我走到那個地方

found the trashcan behind the house.

在屋子後面找到垃圾桶

Opossum? Check. Living? Yep.

有沒有負鼠？有 活的嗎？是的

Turned trashcan on its side. Walked home.

把垃圾桶放倒 走回家

Goodnight sweet opossum."

晚安 小負鼠」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Pretty simple.

很簡單

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

真了不起 這是數位與真實世界的交會

And it's also a great example

也是絕佳的例子

of government getting in on the crowd-sourcing game.

說明政府如何善用群眾這項資源

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

這也是政府發揮平台功能的良好示範

And I don't mean necessarily

我說的不完全是

a technological definition of platform here.

技術定義上的平台

I'm just talking about a platform for people

我說的只是給人們的舞台

to help themselves and to help others.

讓大家可以自助也助人

So one citizen helped another citizen,

因此 市民甲幫助市民乙

but government played a key role here.

政府也在其中扮演關鍵角色

It connected those two people.

連接起這兩個人

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

政府也可以在人們有需要時 引導他們求助於官方服務

but a neighbor is a far better and cheaper alternative

但是跟鄰居相比 鄰居又快又便宜

to government services.

是更好的替代方案

When one neighbor helps another,

左鄰右舍互相幫助

we strengthen our communities.

可以強化社區

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

打電話給動物中心--只會多人民的納稅錢

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

不過 談到政府時 有件事情要銘記在心

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

就是政府和政治是兩回事

And most people get that,

大部分人都了解這一點

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

但他們認為一個是雞 一個是蛋

That our input to the system of government

我們對政府體系的參與

is voting.

就是投票

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

我們是不是都參與過好多次選舉

and sometimes we spend a lot of energy

有時候花了好大一番功夫

getting a new political leader elected --

選出一個新的官員

and then we sit back and we expect government

然後我們就坐在那

to reflect our values and meet our needs,

期望政府反映我們的價值 達成我們的需求

and then not that much changes?

結果改變的卻不多？

That's because government is like a vast ocean

因為政府就像個巨大的海洋

and politics is the six-inch layer on top.

政治只是表層六英吋的水

And what's under that

在表層之下

is what we call bureaucracy.

是我們所謂的官僚制度

And we say that word with such contempt.

我們用這個詞時 總帶著輕蔑

But it's that contempt

但就是這種輕蔑

that keeps this thing that we own

讓這個為我們所有

and we pay for

我們繳稅供養的東西

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

一直跟我們作對 變成另一種東西

and then we're disempowering ourselves.

是我們讓自己變得無力

People seem to think politics is sexy.

人們似乎覺得政治很性感

If we want this institution to work for us,

如果我們要讓政府為民服務

we're going to have to make bureaucracy sexy.

就得把官僚制度變得性感

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

因為它是政府實際工作進行的地方

We have to engage with the machinery of government.

我們必須參與政府機器的運作

So that's OccupytheSEC movement has done.

這就是佔領華爾街運動所做的

Have you seen these guys?

有看到這些人嗎？

It's a group of concerned citizens

他們是一群憂慮的市民

that have written a very detailed

寫了一份非常詳細

325-page report

長達325頁的報告

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

回應證券交易委員會所提出

on the Financial Reform Bill.

對金融改革法案所做的回應

That's not being politically active,

這並不是積極參予政治

that's being bureaucratically active.

而是積極參予官僚制度

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

那些已經放棄政府的人

it's time that we asked ourselves

現在該問問自己

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

想留給後代子孫怎樣的世界

You have to see the enormous challenges

你必須看到那些巨大的

that they're going to face.

後代必須面對的挑戰

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

難道我們真的認為可以達成自己的期待

without fixing the one institution

即使不改善這個唯一的機構

that can act on behalf of all of us?

這個能夠代表眾人行動的機構？

We can't do without government,

沒有政府 無事可成

but we do need it

但政府

to be more effective.

必須更有效率

The good news is that technology is making it possible

幸好 科技正開啟新的可能性

to fundamentally reframe

徹底重整

the function of government

政府的功能

in a way that can actually scale

讓效能確實擴大

by strengthening civil society.

方法是強化公民社會

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

現在的新世代 是跟著網路長大的

and they know that it's not that hard

他們知道

to do things together,

一同參予並不難

you just have to architect the systems the right way.

只要有正確的系統架構就行

Now the average age of our fellows is 28,

和我同代的人現在平均是28歲

so I am, begrudgingly,

因此雖然我不想承認

almost a generation older than most of them.

但我幾乎已經是上一個世代的人

This is a generation

這個世代

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

把發聲的權利視為理所當然

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

他們沒有經歷過我們的奮戰

about who gets to speak;

搶奪發言權

they all get to speak.

他們都有發言權

They can express their opinion

可以表達自己的意見

on any channel at any time,

不受管道與時間的限制

and they do.

他們也在這麼做

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

所以面對政府的問題

they don't care as much

他們並不那麼在乎

about using their voices.

發聲的權利

They're using their hands.

他們用的是雙手

They're using their hands

用雙手

to write applications that make government work better.

撰寫程式 讓政府運作得更順暢

And those applications let us use our hands

這些應用程式讓我們用自己的雙手

to make our communities better.

改善我們的社區

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

可能是把消防栓挖出來 或是除草

turning over a garbage can with an opossum in it.

或是把裡面有負鼠的垃圾桶放倒

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

當然 我們一直都有在挖消防栓

and many people do.

許多人都是如此

But these apps are like little digital reminders

但是這些應用程式就像小小的數位記號

that we're not just consumers,

提醒我們 我們不只是消費者

and we're not just consumers of government,

也不只是政府服務的對象

putting in our taxes and getting back services.

繳稅以享有服務

We're more than that,

不只是這樣

we're citizens.

我們是公民

And we're not going to fix government

如果我們要改善政府

until we fix citizenship.

就要先修正公民精神

So the question I have for all of you here:

因此我留給各位的問題是

When it comes to the big, important things

當我們面對重大 重要的事情

that we need to do together,

需要同心協力

all of us together,

群策群力時

are we just going to be a crowd of voices,

我們是一堆只會出一張嘴的鄉民

or are we also going to be

還是我們也可以

a crowd of hands?

真的有所作為？

Thank you.

謝謝各位

(Applause)

(掌聲)