DIGTIAL TECHNOLOGIES IN COMBATING GLOBAL CORRUPTION
Abstract
A transnationalization of corruption practices, born by globalization processes, is one of nowadays negative phenomenon that deserves intensive studying. Digital technologies smooth the pathways for transnational corruption. On the other hand, digitalization also provides tools for building up respective countermeasures. This article examines the potential of digital technologies, primarily artificial intelligence (AI), in preventing corruption practices.
Firstly, the characteristics of the «global corruption» phenomenon are outlined. The experience of implementing digital technologies in the corruption countermeasures has been analysed that revealed problems and prospective trends in the development of digital anti-corruption mechanisms at the supra-national level of governance. Digital tools for detecting and tracking of transnational corruption schemes were described in the framework of international journalistic investigations or anti-corruption control technologies in the European Union. One of key factors preventing the effective application of AI against the transnational corruption is the lack of the consolidated international regulatory regime for data evaluation. However, AI is ambivalent for both fighting corruption and creation new corruption pathways. Arguments in support of the distributed ledger technologies as the promising corruption-preventing techniques are provided. The study discloses factors inhibiting the scaling of the implementation of blockchain or smart contracts as mechanisms of reducing the risks of corruption. The need to develop international standards for the use of AI technologies in the fight against corruption practices is emphasized. The creation of a transnational structure with appropriate rule-making and control powers in this area becomes extremely important.
Downloads
References
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 2017. Explore the Panama Papers Key Figures. Investigations. URL: https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/explore-panama-papers-key-figures/
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 2021. Pandora papers. Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak. Global Overview. URL: https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/
Transparency International. n.d. What is Corruption? URL: https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2004. United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Publications/Convention/08-50026_E.pdf
United Nations. 2018. The costs of corruption: values, economic development under assault, trillions lost, says Guterres. UN News 9 December 2018. URL: https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1027971
Transparency International Hravatska. 2020. What is Corruption? URL: https://www.transparency.hr/en/antikorupcija-detalji/what-is-corruption-390
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2014. Addressing the Links between Corruption and Transnational Organized Crime. URL: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ngos/CN15-Addressing-the-links-between-corruption-and-transnational-organised-crime.html
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2022. OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum 30 March - 1 April 2022. URL: https://www.oecd-events.org/gacif2022/
International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC). 2022. Uprooting Corruption, Defending Democratic Values. Washington. URL: https://iaccseries.org
Indonesia’s G20 Presidency 2022. Priority Issues. URL: https://www.g20.org/g20-presidency-of-indonesia/#priorities
European Commission. 2018. A Definition of AI: Main Capabilities and Scientific Disciplines. High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence. B-1049 Brussels. URL: https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/system/files/ged/ai_hleg_definition_of_ai_18_december_1.pdf
Sharma, V. 2018. Can artificial intelligence stop corruption in its tracks? World Bank Blogs. URL: https://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/can-artificial-intelligence-stop-corruption-its-tracks
Special Eurobarometer. 2022. Corruption. Report. March-April 2022. 523. European Union. http://dx.doi.org/10.2837/110098
Transparency International. 2021. European Union. Global Corruption Barometer. URL: https://www.transparency.org/en/gcb/eu/european-union-2021
Flash Eurobarometer. 2022. Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU. April. Ipsos European Public Affairs. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. http://dx.doi.org/10.2837/474493
European Commission. 2015. Charter for the Introduction and Application of the Arachne Risk Scoring Tool in the Management Verifications. URL: https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=14836&langId=en
Neculcea Florin L. and Ninka, Besiana. 2022. Arachne Interreg survey 2022 URL: https://www.interact-eu.net/download/file/fid/25780
European Commission. 2022a. Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast). Brussels, 16.5.2022. COM(2022) 223 final. 2022/0162(COD). URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ TXT/ HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022PC0223
European Commission. 2022b. Arachne. What is new in Arachne V2.3? 18 January 2022. URL: https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=25636&langId=en
European Anti-Fraud Office. n.d. Union Anti-Fraud Programme – AFIS component. URL: https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu/policy/union-anti-fraud-programme-uafp/union-anti-fraud-programme-afis-component_en
European Commission. 2022c. Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES). Anti-fraud measures. URL: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/ eu-budget/how-it-works/annual-lifecycle/ implementation/anti-fraud-measures/edes_en
European Anti-Fraud Office. 2022. Union Anti-Fraud Programme – IMS component. URL: https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu/policy/union-anti-fraud-programme-uafp/union-anti-fraud-programme-ims-component_en
European Parliament. 2021. Proceedings of the workshop on Use of big data and AI in fighting corruption and misuse of public funds - good practice, ways forward and how to integrate new technology into contemporary control framework. Workshop: Use of big data and AI in fighting corruption and misuse of public funds. Policy Department D for Budgetary Affairs. Directorate General for Internal Policies of the Union. URL: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/691722/IPOL_STU(2021)691722_EN.pdf
European Commission. 2022d.33rd Annual Report on the Protection of the European Union’s financial interests and the Fight against fraud 2021. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. URL: https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-09/pif-report-2021_en_0.pdf
European Anti-Fraud Office. n.d. Union Anti-Fraud Programme (UAFP). URL: https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu/policy/union-anti-fraud-programme-uafp_en
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. n.d. Offshore Data Leaks. URL: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/pages/about
Linkurious. 2016. Panama Papers: How Linkurious enables ICIJ to investigate the massive Mossack Fonseca leaks. URL: https://linkurious.com/blog/panama-papers-how-linkurious-enables-icij-to-investigate-the-massive-mossack-fonseca-leaks/
Linkurious. 2021. A “tsunami of data”: the investigative technology behind the Pandora Papers. URL: https://linkurious.com/blog/technology-pandora-papers-investigation/
Köbis, N. C., Starke, C. Edward-Gill, J. 2022. The corruption risks of artificial intelligence. Transparency International. Working Paper. URL: https://knowledgehub.transparency.org/assets/uploads/kproducts/The-Corruption-Risks-of-Artificial-Intelligence.pdf
Chen, S. 2019. Is China’s corruption-busting AI system ‘Zero Trust’ being turne doff for being too efficient? Tech in Asia URL: https://www.techinasia.com/chinas-corruptionbusting-ai-system-trust-turned-efficient
Allessie, D., Sobolewski, M., Vaccari, L. 2019. Blockchain for digital government. F. Pignatelli (ed.). EUR 29677 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. doi:10.2760/942739, JRC115049
National Agency of Public Registry. 2016. Improving the security of a government land registry. Georgia. URL: https://exonum.com/story-georgia
European Commission. 2021. European Blockchain Services Infrastructure. URL: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/ european-blockchain-services-infrastructure
United Nations. 2017. UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records. Date of adoption: 13 July 2017. New York. URL: https://uncitral.un.org/sites/uncitral.un.org/files/media-
International Chamber of Commerce. 2020. Digital Standards Initiative. URL: https://www.dsi.iccwbo.org/
Author’s copyright and licensing.
License Terms: Authors retain copyright and also grant the Journal the right to publish original scientific articles that contain research results and are not under consideration for publication in other issues. All material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License International CC-BY, which allows others to distribute their work with the copyright of this work and recognition of the first publication in this Journal.
If the article is taken for publishing in The Journal of V.N. Karazin Kharkov National University. “Political Science Issues”, the author must sign a copyright transfer agreement. The agreement is sent by post (original document) or by e-mail (scanned copy of the document) to the Editorial Board of the Journal.
By this agreement the author certifies that the submitted material:
- does not violate the copyrights of other people or organizations;
- has not been previously published in other issues and has not been given for publishing to other issues.
The author gives the editorial board the rights to:
- publish the article in Ukrainian (English and Russian) and distribute its printed version;
- translate the article into English (for articles in Ukrainian and Russian) and distribute the printed version of the translation;
- distribute the electronic version of the article, as well as the electronic version of the English-language translation of the article (for articles in Ukrainian and Russian), through any electronic means (placing on the official journal web site, in electronic databases, repositories, etc.).
The author reserves the right without the consent of the editorial board and the founders to:
- Completely or partly use the materials of the article for educational purposes.
- Completely or partly use the materials of the article for writing own theses.
- Use the materials of the article to prepare abstracts, conference reports, and oral presentations.
- Post electronic copies of the article (including the final electronic version downloaded from the journal's official website) to:
- personal web-resources of all authors (web sites, web pages, blogs, etc.);
- web-resources of institutions where authors work (including electronic institutional repositories);
- non-profit, open-source web resources (such as arXiv.org).
