A pioneer in the digitalization of the State and public institutions, Estonia is now preparing its society for the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Visiting Paris this November, its Minister of Education and Research, Kristina Kallas, explains the strategy that the Baltic country has been deploying in this area for forty years.
Why did Estonia embark on the digitalization of its government institutions and services early?
It all started in the 1990s, when we gained independence, after the fall of the Soviet empire. The challenge was immense: how to rebuild our country, our economy, our democratic governance without money or resources? This pushed us to immediately adopt the most modern technologies, because it was the cheapest option – proof, if any, that innovation is born from constraint.
Today, the entire Estonian digital system saves the equivalent of 2% of public spending per year. Less bureaucracy and paperwork also means hours of work and productivity saved. For all of this to work, however, Estonians had to have confidence in the digital identity and e-signature system that we have built, and which allows them to access public services. This was the most difficult.
How did the government convince them?
There was a vast social debate, and consensus on the subject gradually emerged. Now Estonians have no doubts about the security of digital services and the quality of protection of private data. The level of trust is very high. As proof, voting in elections has been done digitally since 2005 and has become widely accepted.
What services does this “e-identity” provide access to?
All ! For 99% of the services that Estonians need, communication with the state takes place online, through digital identity. I am almost 50 years old, and I have never declared my income in paper form in my life, because when I entered the job market twenty-five years ago, the electronic tax declaration system was already in place. Everything is pre-populated, it only takes a few minutes.
Today, we are working on the next phase: developing personalized public services, based on the profile and needs of citizens. Example: if a person takes care of their dependent parents, they will be offered home help services on their digital profile, without having to search for them themselves. He will then just have to accept or refuse this proposal on his phone.
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