BANGOR, Maine — Quickly evolving technology can make cities and towns run more efficiently, make law enforcement react faster and potentially change education practices for the better, but these efficiencies come with a cost, according to David Eaves, a technology expert from Harvard University.
Eaves was the keynote speaker at the Maine Municipal Association’s 80th annual convention, a two-day gathering that began Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Center.
“There are tradeoffs,” Eaves, who is a government access expert, said about sharing resources and the consolidation of emails and data. “It’s cheaper. But I’m very, very nervous about it.”
Eaves talked about surveillance systems, phone records, emails and even ride-sharing giant Uber finding ways to collect data about people.
“These highly centralized systems are all connected to a centralized hub. Whoever has control of that hub has a lot of power,” said Eaves.
He used Google’s email service, Gmail, as an example.
“Everybody uses Gmail now. You’ve gone from hundreds of thousands of [email servers] to just one and Google manages it,” Eaves said.
If that one system is compromised, it could cause problems, he said.
Law enforcement officials are now quickly responding to threats posted on social media or received by email, which is a huge change from just a few years ago, Eaves said. And cities and towns, which almost all have websites, can now process permits and accept tax payments online, increasing their efficiency, he said. The redundancy of many of the online systems can be reduced, however, to provide even greater access, Eaves said.
He said the United Kingdom uses one national sign-on system that allows users to access all their government-controlled programs under one roof, which reduces a lot of redundancy.
“I think this is the next big battle” in the U.S., Eaves said.
Baileyville Town Manager Richard Bronson said he walked away from the discussion wanting to improve the town’s website.
“He makes an important point that many of our websites are not particularly user-friendly,” Bronson said. “I think his point that our websites need to get viewer input early, to make them easier to use, is another important point.”
At the end of Eaves’ discussion, an audience member asked how changing technology might affect education. Eaves responded by saying that “we’ve learned” teachers should not be replaced by computer screens, but he suggests that technology could be used in a better way.
“We lecture all day” and then students go home and do homework, he said, suggesting the opposite occur, with students’ homework being a video lecture and the school day spent “working with your teacher at school to [strengthen] the knowledge.”
“I think that was on the edge of brilliant,” Bronson said.
Augusta Mayor Dave Rollins said what he took from the discussion was that technology can be used as a tool to improve education, especially in rural areas.
“There is no reason we can’t be a leader,” Rollins said.
MMA spokesman Eric Conrad said Wednesday that the convention is designed to discuss the important topics member communities are concerned about or want to learn more about.
Breakout sessions were held Wednesday to discuss elder scams, energy projects, medical marijuana in the workplace, dog licensing, employee leave, recycling, clean water and retail changes.
Thursday discussions include Penobscot and Piscataquis County District Attorney Chris Almy talking about new laws that increase penalties for violence against firefighters, as well as talks on how to open an emergency operations center, what’s next with the merging of Lewiston and Auburn, healthy downtowns, addressing unpaid taxes and acquiring properties, the Americans with Disabilities Act, overtime and right to know.
University of Maine Chancellor James Page is scheduled to speak at 9 a.m. Thursday about education in Maine, and at 1 p.m. Michael Clumpner, an instructor with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, will discuss how to prepare for and respond to “an active shooter in your community.”