Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3043810/data-sharing-key-unlocking-us14-trillion-economic-value-and-saving
Comment/ Opinion

Data sharing is key to unlocking US$1.4 trillion of economic value and saving lives. More collaboration, not paranoid decoupling, is needed

  • The value of ‘earth and marine observing’ technologies to Apec economies could rise significantly in the next decade. If we are to tap this potential and improve life-saving technologies, there is no place for barriers to data sharing
Sendai in Japan is seen before a tsunami hit, in this satellite image taken on August 23, 2010 and released by Maxar Technologies. Photo: EPA-EFE

I have recently found myself wringing my hands over the technological paranoia, manifesting in the United States in particular, which is driving an economic wedge between the US and China, forcing many economies to choose between them as trade and economic partners, and pressing towards a technological “decoupling” that would be ruinous to businesses worldwide.

Just as we are poised to see massive global economic gains from new technologies, like 5G, artificial intelligence and collaborative use of data analytics, paranoia threatens to throw a spanner in the works. The economic cost could be huge.

It’s timely, then, that the Australian government has published a fascinating report, “Current and future value of earth and marine observing to the Asia-Pacific region”. The 120-page report, undertaken for the government by the Melbourne-headquartered management consultancy, the Nous Group, calculates that the current value to the 21 Apec economies of “earth and marine observing” technologies is US$372 billion, and likely to rise to at least US$1.35 trillion by 2030. Strong regional collaboration could lift the value to US$1.48 trillion.

But what are these “earth and marine observing”, or EMO, technologies? They range from weather satellites and the satellite- and land-based technologies that enable GPS, to drones monitoring farmland and oil pipelines, seismographs checking for earthquakes, and ocean buoys monitoring for tsunamis and changing currents.

They are the sort of geeky technologies monitoring passing meteors and the retreat of Arctic and Antarctic ice, or warning telecoms and power companies of cosmic flares that could disrupt electricity grids or communications.

It may be data that most of us don’t give a second thought to, but for critical segments of our global economy, this kind of data is not just worth billions in economic efficiency or savings, but – in the event of droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis or epidemics – is also a matter of life and death.

They are the sort of geeky technologies that only become valuable when they are operated by economies working together. Imagine Hong Kong trying to predict local weather without having access to data from across the region. Or a Japanese coastal village anticipating a massive tsunami without access to data from the network of buoys and earthquake monitors spread across the Pacific Ocean.

If we are to capitalise on the billions of dollars of value from such EMO technologies, there can be no place for paranoid national security barriers to data sharing between thousands of public and private organisations.

The value of such unnoticed services is massive everywhere. They help farmers to decide what to plant, where and when. They help ensure the ocean’s fish stocks are fished sustainably. They help shipping companies, airlines and GPS-empowered vehicles to plan journeys. They help governments to focus emergency assistance in the face of typhoons or forest fires. They help emergency responders to bring urgent help after earthquakes or floods. At the most humdrum level, they help us plan our daily lives, whether it is wearing warm clothes in a cold snap, or bringing an umbrella in case of rain.

The report estimates that US$300 billion of value is contributed to industries by EMO-generated data, ranging from mining, agriculture and water management to power, transport, health and even finance. Consumer gains are estimated at US$46 billion, with US$26 billion of value going to those involved in disaster management.

At present, because of its size, wealth and extensive investment in EMO technologies, the US is significantly the greatest beneficiary, capturing benefits worth about US$196 billion, or about 53 per cent of the total. China comes in second, with benefits worth about US$53 billion, or 14.4 per cent.

Across industries, the transport sector currently captures benefits estimated at US$141 billion – about 47 per cent of the total, because of its reliance on digital maps, GPS positioning and digital communications. Far behind transport come four sectors (power, mining, communications, and agriculture, fisheries and forestry), capturing 10 to 12 per cent apiece.

The Nous Group calculates that, by 2030, EMO gains will have exploded to US$1.35 trillion, with the US still by far the greatest beneficiary (US$541 billion), ahead of China (US$395 billion).

Even for Hong Kong, the value gained is estimated to soar from US$3.3 billion today to US$13.9 billion in 2030, with 58 per cent of this captured by the transport sector – mainly shipping and aviation.

The report anticipates massive potential gains for Hong Kong from using EMO technologies in the health industry, in areas like influenza monitoring: “As an industry, health is financially larger than transport, yet realises only 5.3 per cent of the value from EMO, compared with transport at 57.9 per cent.”

But a key subtext of the report is that maximum gains can only be captured through region-wide collaboration. “Greater cooperation could increase the value added to GDP by EMO-enabled technologies by an extra 11 per cent, and in disaster management by an extra 7 per cent, to give a value of EMO of US$1.48 trillion in 2030,” the authors calculate. Also, “many Apec economies would benefit from greater sharing of infrastructure, data and data products…”

And it is here that cross-border protections against new technologies and data sharing are so alarming. As 5G and AI develop, it is only by collaborating on common technological foundations that we can optimise the gains that come from earth and maritime observing technologies. If we can’t share GPS or trans-ocean fibre-optic cables, if we can’t pool data to monitor weather patterns or manage disasters, then important economic gains will be lost, along with lives taken by earthquakes or typhoons.

It is encouraging that the Australian government, through the report, is so forcefully calling for closer collaboration rather than paranoid decoupling. It is pressing for practical action through the Apec Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation. The more Apec members that collaborate, the better.

David Dodwell researches and writes about global, regional and Hong Kong challenges from a Hong Kong point of view