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<\/p>\nFighting between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for a over a year now, ending the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people and displacing millions. Ukraine\u2019s Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, invited Western arms manufacturers to test their newest weapons against Russians in 2022. And indeed, all kinds of weaponry have been flowing into Ukraine. It is truly a testing ground.<\/p>\n
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So, this begs the question, is anything else getting tested there? The Ukrainian government seems pretty willing to use its own citizens as guinea pigs, and the American government seems pretty willing to foot the bill.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what the US is funding in Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n Volodymyr Zelensky became president of Ukraine in May 2019, and almost immediately he introduced his idea of \u201ca country in a smartphone<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n In early September 2019, Ukraine launched its Ministry of Digital Transformation, headed by a World Economic Forum participant, Mykhailo Fedorov According to Federov, the goal of this new government department was to streamline government services, making it easier to apply for driver\u2019s licenses, passports, and so on. Ukraine has long held the reputation as Europe\u2019s most corrupt country, and young politicians like Federov want to take advantage of new technology to make changes.<\/p>\n So, in early February 2020, the Ukrainian government launched its Diia<\/em> app for smartphones. Developed by volunteers from EPAM Systems, Diaa<\/em> has been touted as a way to streamline government services. By 2021 it had allowed Ukraine to become the first European nation to accord digital passports and one of the first to issue digital drivers\u2019 licenses. Federov reported in 2021 that about one-fourth of the Ukrainian population was using it, and it was gaining in popularity. As of January 2023, about half the adult Ukrainian population was using it.<\/p>\n There is a good side to streamlining government services. Diia<\/em> has allowed Ukrainians to easily start new businesses, making all the required government paperwork easily available. We can see this being helpful for young entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n However, dangerous consequences became readily apparent, too.<\/p>\n Within a year of its launch, millions of Ukrainians found that their personal data, such as driver\u2019s licenses, social media information, and banking information, were being traded online. There\u2019s always been the risk of losing your wallet and your driver\u2019s license, but with everything online, the risks of fraud and identity theft increase astronomically.<\/p>\n Early on in his presidency, Zelensky talked about streamlining the voting process via the app. Aside from the fact that experts have never agreed about the safety of online voting, by July 2022, Zelensky had banned political opposition parties and shut down media companies with alternative views. Having one central app that controls everyone\u2019s important documents makes it far easier for any ruling party to maintain its power.<\/p>\n Controlling elections is only the beginning. Diia<\/em> launched in February 2020, and by March 2020, Diia<\/em> was helping the Ukrainian government enforce its lockdown policies, as discussed in the recent report by Redacted<\/em>.<\/p>\n