The Internet of Things (IoT) brings with it unique privacy and security concerns associated with smart technology and its use of data. What would it mean for you to trust an Internet connected product or service and why would you not? What has damaged consumer trust in products and services and why do sellers care? … Continue reading Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: the making of an IoT trust mark
The power behind today’s AI in public services Thinking about whether education in England is preparing us for the jobs of the future, means also thinking about how technology will influence it. Time and again, thinking and discussion about these topics is siloed. At the Turing Institute, the Royal Society, the ADRN and EPSRC, in government … Continue reading The power behind today’s AI in public services
It seems the ugly ghosts of care.data past were alive and well at NHS Digital this Christmas. Old style thinking, the top-down patriarchal ‘no one who uses a public service should be allowed to opt out of sharing their records. Nor can people rely on their record being anonymised,‘ that you thought was vanquished, has … Continue reading A vanquished ghost returns as details of distress required in NHS opt out
A duty of confidentiality and the regulation of medical records are as old as the hills. Public engagement on attitudes in this in context of the NHS has been done and published by established social science and health organisations in the last three years. So why is Google DeepMind (GDM) talking about it as if … Continue reading DeepMind or DeepMined? NHS public data, engagement and regulation repackaged
This blog post is also available as an audio file on soundcloud. What constitutes the public interest must be set in a universally fair and transparent ethics framework if the benefits of research are to be realised – whether in social science, health, education and more – that framework will provide a strategy to getting … Continue reading OkCupid and Google DeepMind: Happily ever after? Purposes and ethics in datasharing
I’ve been struck by stories I’ve heard on the datasharing consultation, on data science, and on data infrastructures as part of ‘government as a platform’ (#GaaPFuture) in recent weeks. The audio recorded by the Royal Statistical Society on March 17th is excellent, and there were some good questions asked. There were even questions from insurance … Continue reading Can new datasharing laws win social legitimacy, public trust and support without public engagement?
Atlas, the Boston Dynamics created robot, won hearts and minds this week as it stoically survived man being mean. Our collective human response was an emotional defence of the machine, and criticism of its unfair treatment by its tester. Some on Twitter recalled the incident of Lord of The Flies style bullying by children in … Continue reading On the Boundaries of Being Human and Big Data
Who is using all this Big Data? What decisions are being made on the back of it that we never see? In the everyday and press it often seems that the general public does not understand data, and can easily be told things which we misinterpret. There are tools in social media influencing public discussions … Continue reading Destination smart-cities: design, desire and democracy (Part four)
When I drop my children at school in the morning I usually tell them three things: “Be kind. Have fun. Make good choices.” I’ve been thinking recently about what a positive and sustainable future for them might look like. What will England be in 10 years? The #Sprint16 snippets I read talk about how: ”Digital … Continue reading Destination smart-cities: design, desire and democracy (Part one)
Since it appears that the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information [FOI] has not published all of the received submissions, I thought I’d post what I’d provided via email. I’d answered two of the questions with two case studies. The first on application of section 35 and 36 exemptions and the safe space. The second … Continue reading Commission on Freedom of Information: submission
