“One City, Two Networks”: Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Smart Public Governance in Shanghai

In the past 10 years, China has increasingly sought to use digital technologies to improve public service provision and public sectoroperations in various policy areas. In this context, Shanghai has launched two major policy initiatives that leverage Big Data andartificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the delivery of administrative services and urban management services: the GovernmentOnline-Offline Shanghai and the Single Platform for Urban Management, respectively. These are two municipal digital platforms thatprocess huge amounts of data. Such data are gathered from government agencies at the municipal, district and subdistrict levels viaan extensive technological infrastructure designed and controlled by the municipal government. Based on these data, several AIapplications – from the automatic pre-approval of administrative documents to real-time management of traffic conditions – aredeployed through the Government Online-Offline Shanghai and the Single Platform for Urban Management, integrating AItechnologies into the activities of government agencies at each administrative level. The Government Online-Offline Shanghai andthe Single Platform for Urban Management show that digital data are an essential asset for public governance in China. These real-world applications highlight that “digital sovereignty” is no longer an abstract concept. As digitalization starts having tangibleimpacts on the lives of millions of citizens, the experience of Shanghai brings into focus some of the practical implications ofpursuing leadership and strategic autonomy in the digital field, and it suggests that China will continue to actively promote itsability to assert control over digital resources in the country and abroad.