Connected by Data

⏳6 weeks until the Building the Smarter State Conference! 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of techUK's flagship event, BTSS. For a decade, BTSS has been the go-to event for public sector digital leaders, drawing 200 senior decision-makers annually. To celebrate, we're releasing weekly insights from 10 top tech leaders on public sector digital transformation. Check out the latest article by Gavin Freeguard. Gavin Freeguard is a freelance consultant specialising in research and policy around data, with a particular interest in government data and digital government. He is a policy associate at Connected by Data, special adviser at the Open Data Institute, associate at the Institute for Government (where he was previously programme director for data and digital) and a member of the Public Digital network. Stay tuned for more thought leadership as we count down to BTSS 2024! 🚀 Heather Cover-Kus | Georgina Maratheftis | Ellie Huckle | Matthew Evans | Margot Stumm | Dora Pass | Tania Teixeira | Alice Jackson | Julian David #10YearsBTSS #BTSS2024 #DigitalTransformation #PublicSectorInnovation #techUK ______ 🏙 Join us on the 10th of September for the 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 conference. 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://bit.ly/3Pj9OV8 (𝘗𝘴𝘴𝘵... 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭���𝘤 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦! 🤭) Sponsors: Leidos, Exclaimer, Tussell, Cognizant, Kyndryl, FuturePlus & CACI Ltd ____ 🌱 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 🌍 https://lnkd.in/eR6Q4N3c

What could progressive technology policy look like for the new government in the UK? To answer this question, we worked alongside Connected by Data, the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge and ZoomInfo to bring together more than 60 representatives from civil society, academia, industry, policy and government. The intention was to explore possible roadmaps for UK tech policy, discuss the milestones on this map, and identify where there is consensus and disagreement on the priorities, detail, and overall direction. Across the afternoon, topics covered included AI and regulatory innovation, data and public service delivery, sustainable digital infrastructure, and technology adoption and regional economic growth. We’re excited to keep up this momentum and work with the new government and one another to bring this to life. You can find a full write up of the event here: https://lnkd.in/eVQqbwvh

Last week Tim Davies co-hosted a workshop at the “A Permanent Global Citizens’ Assembly: bringing humankind’s voice to world politics” conference at Jesus College Oxford exploring an early draft of our Options for a Global Citizens Assembly on AI. We were privileged to have a great panel made up of: ▪ Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt : Principal of Jesus College and Professorial Research Fellow in Computer Science, University of Oxford ▪ Anna Colom, PhD : Senior Policy Lead, The Data Tank ▪ Reema Patel : Research Director and Head of Deliberative Engagement, Ipsos UK, and ▪ Professor Isabelle Ferreras : Professor of Sociology at the University of Louvain and Visiting research fellow at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford. Tim's full write up of the session is available on our website.

The first edition under a Labour Government and it is brim full with election reflections, news of appointments and proposed legislation (including early bids for pronunciation of the acronym DISD). Gavin Freeguard is back with the Data Policy Digest.

Do you want to work with #patients?   Maybe on #healthcare #AI policy or product development?   I’ve done it for a while, and it has transformed my outlook.   It's taught me to start with people. People with all our vulnerabilities, hurt, and beautifully unique outlooks.   My talk wont be like a lecture, but more like an honest conversation.   I'm genuinely really looking forward to it, and I hope I do justice to some people that have given me so much. Connected by Data Understanding Patient Data Nicola Hamilton Gavin Freeguard

As the dust settles on the legislative process of the EU’s AI Act, the focus is now on its implementation and enforcement. Join us for a Connected Conversation where we will explore the opportunities for meaningful community and public participation in the governance and implementation of the EU’s AI Act. On 10 Sept 2024 at 1pm CET, with inputs from Connor Dunlop from Ada Lovelace Institute, Lucia Errandonea talking about #ParticipationAI, Laurence Meyr from Digital Freedom Fund and Chiara Giovannini from ANEC. Find out more on our website. https://lnkd.in/eWYj_442 

🗣️NEW EVENT 🗣️ Do you work on, or are you interested in, the public sector engaging the public on data and AI? Our first Data & AI Public Engagement Community of Practice catch-up with Gavin Freeguard. 🗓 Thursday 18 July ⏰ 2-3.15pm 💻 Online. Sign up below.

We're sure you don’t need to be reminded, but today is a very special day. Yes, it’s Independence Day! Best wishes to any readers in the US, where the Supreme Court has decided to mark the occasion by enabling a reenactment of the reign of King George III. And of course, here in the UK, it’s election day! Make sure you take the time to vote, whoever it is you’re voting for. Reporting restrictions are in place so there’s no news about the election until polls close - how will you fill the time before 10pm? You could, you know, get stuck into all the links in Gavin Freeguard's newest Data Policy Digest.

What a year it has been! Our second annual report is now live. It includes AI Safety Summit activities, influencing the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDIB), building international partnerships, creating deliberative resources and more. Here, you can learn more about what we’ve been up to, and the impact we’ve had, in a year when AI has become a headline topic.

It is not making headlines...yet...but AI in public services will have a significant impact on our lives. Last week we thrashed this out with different voices that may influence the next government; Public Law Project, James Plunkett and Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Jeni Tennison challenged a ‘gung ho’ approach when so much is at stake. That doesn’t mean rejecting a role for tech. It does mean getting serious about who gets to decide why, when and where it should be used. Because public voice and democratic mandate matters for purpose, trust and for effectiveness. We call on Labour to listen to the independent civil society voices building a positive programme; for effective and equitable use of data and AI in public services and beyond.