Communist Party should not be overreliant on big data, academic says
- A digital chasm exists between urban and rural party members, professor at East China University of Political Science and Law says
- Party officials need to be aware of the ‘human factors’ in making decisions, he says
While big data has played a pivotal role in supercharging the economy, cadres responsible for “party building” should not fall for the “myth of data”, Hua Yong, a professor at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, said in a paper published this month.
There existed a “digital chasm” between urban and rural party members, he said, and cadres should be aware of the limited use of big data among party members who live in the countryside and among the so-called digital illiterate.
Chinese leaders have prioritised the development of technology as part of the country’s modernisation, and increasingly used digital tools like big data and artificial intelligence to tighten public governance.
In his report, which was published on the website of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Hua said almost a third of Communist Party members were aged 61 or older.
“Considering that a significant number of our elderly party members have limited knowledge and skills over data, and they may not even have the smart [digital] devices or access to the internet, we would have overlooked these segments of our party membership if we solely relied on big data platform in our party building work,” he said.
“More importantly, these elderly members – for health or economic reasons – need the care and support of the party more and so our party building work will not be complete if they are not being counted.”
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