Lifeport is the region in the Netherlands where special technologies provide answers to social issues. For example, Radboud's iHub developed a prototype for digital voting. Although we will not yet see this technology in practice during the municipal elections, it is a great example of this region's innovation and research strength.

 

We can arrange almost everything via the internet. Yet on 16 March, we just stand in booth with a red pencil when we go to vote. Can't that be done online? "No," say researchers at iHub, who study the impact of digitalisation on society. According to them, it is unwise to organise a political election over the internet.

Testing ground of iHub

At least, that is the conclusion of Bernard van Gastel's research team. Besides his job as an associate professor of computer science at RU, he is head of iLab: iHub's experimental living lab. Within iHub, he collaborates with scientists from different disciplines. Thus, not only computer science passes by, but also philosophy, history and law.

At iHub, the effects that digital solutions have on society are constantly being examined. Nowadays, a lot of systems of companies, the non-profit sector and the government are digitised. Many decisions are made automatically, based on algorithms. And so, according to Van Gastel, you have to take a close look at what happens to people when you use technology. How do you make sure it is safe to use, how do you limit the increasing risk of data leaks or data stealing? And how do you ensure that the human touch is maintained?

Voice project

Recently, at iLab, they made a prototype for internet voting. It was evaluated in a pilot with the municipalities of Amsterdam and Groningen. The question was to what extent digital voting works in online citizen participation, such as voting on a neighbourhood plan or on the layout of a street by residents. "From this pilot, we can then draw conclusions about local or national elections," says Van Gastel. Voting at home via computer is technically not very complicated. But, there are risks involved.

For the project, the researchers used the IRMA app, developed by iHub together with the Privacy by Design foundation. This is an app in which you can load data such as address and date of birth. If an application needs this data, the IRMA app only shows what is strictly necessary. So for example, age instead of date of birth, and place of residence instead of full address. With this, privacy is better protected.
"Similar to analogue elections, internet voting consists of two steps. First, the right to vote is checked and an anonymous voting card is distributed. Then the voter can hand in this voting card at another location and make a choice. This allows us to guarantee voting secrecy," Van Gastel explains.

Freedom to vote due to fixed location

"The problem in elections is not in the digital aspect, but in the fact that voting does not take place at a designated location," says Van Gastel. Voting at a physical location virtually eliminates the possibility of others collecting and filling in ballots, as identity verification takes place. "By voting on location, there is freedom of voting," Van Gastel said. "And it is easier to check whether your vote has been counted. An analogue voting system people trust more."

Although digital voting is therefore technically possible, Van Gastel argues against political elections via the internet. "The discussion around modern voting quickly becomes about which technology can best be used rather than the requirements for voting. We can guarantee voting secrecy reasonably well, but not the freedom to vote for who you want. The discussion should be about how important we think this freedom is. The technology can then follow."

iHub and Lifeport

At iHub, researchers thus link social issues to new developments. Not only for cybersecurity, but also around Health and Artificial Intelligence. The projects on digitisation in healthcare and privacy and security in medical research are two fascinating examples.
Thus, iHub plays an important role within the Lifeport network: the innovative region in Health, Hightech, Food and Energy.

Are you curious what Lifeport can do for your organisation?
Then visit our information page or contact The Economic Board.