Algorithms are being used as diagnosing tools in healthcare, systems for identifying potential combinations for the creation of medicines, vaccines and treatments, they assess who is most likely to commit crimes, vote conservative, get an A in their exam, or buy a new TV. The data and solutions they provide us appear to be a sophisticated intervention for driving change and making the world a safer, richer and healthier place. However, as Morozov notes in his award winning book, this tendency towards technological solutionism neglects the imperfections made by design and the consequences of these digital technologies.

Many algorithms are…

London’s climate action week in the summer focused on staying resilient in the actions towards preventing climate change in light of the pandemic. COP 26 President Alok Sharma stresses the urgency that we must act now, through the most recent examples of flash floods displacing thousands of people, fires destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and earthquakes taking out cities. Additionally, plastic waste has surged as a result of necessary hygiene during the pandemic, at the same time as reduced rubbish collections due to workers collecting less often, or not at all, due to Covid risks.

Those most…

With our ever-growing population, today there are around 2.2 billion children on the planet, which has more than doubled in the last century. But how can Santa keep up with all these wish lists?

Data protection laws and digital freedom of movement between the UK and the EU is going to get tricky after Jan 1st, Finn Mohrasri discusses how the UK is dealing with these important issues.

As January 1st creeps closer, the UK is continuing to legislate for changes in data privacy and regulation as they exit the EU’s GDPR framework. This is making many things, including the next two paragraphs, very complicated — so bear with me.

In a Delegated Legislation Committee last month, the Minister for Media and Data brought forward a draft amendment on Data Protection Privacy and Electronic…

Here is what our team at Digital Bucket Company have been reading this month, when they seek escapism with a good novel, break-through intellect with the best non-fiction reads, and browse eye-catching headlines.

Books

Fiction

100 years of solitude — Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“100 Years of Solitude pushes the boundaries of what a novel can be. What makes it so important and captivating is how Gabriel Garcia Marquez finds and defines not only his individual identity, but the identity of a nation.”

The Magpie Society — Zoe Sugg and Amy McCulloch

Exit Music — Ian Rankin

Non-Fiction

Irresistible: Why you are addicted to…

In the last few blogs, I have explored the future of health in a data-driven world, from smart-devices in our home improving our everyday health, to the important of big data in the current pandemic. In my final blog on big data and health, I look at the way that science and pharmaceutical companies are using AI to develop faster, safer and more effective treatments of our biggest diseases. This has resulted in fast-tracking what would otherwise of taken years and decades of research. With AI, the future of medicine is looking bright.

Mapping diseases

Europe continues to lead the UK and US on data regulations having voted last month to develop a new legal framework outlining “the ethical and legal obligations to be followed when developing, deploying and using artificial intelligence, robotics and related technologies… including software, algorithms and data”. The key guiding principles enshrined within a new regulatory framework include:

- Human-centric and human-made AI

- Safety

- Transparency and accountability

- Safeguards against bias and discrimination

- Right to redress

- Social and environmental responsibility and

- Respect for privacy and data

In addition to these principles, the EU Commission is also…

As we have seen, regional and national statistics have been crucial to our country’s responses to the pandemic, using data showing virus flare-ups to act fast.

It’s not been the first time that infection data has been used to promote response: Google Flu is well known for being able to identify seasonal epidemics from just what people in certain areas are searching for in Google.

But in our battle to fight the invisible enemy, we need more than case-by-case location data. Big data, that which collects data on the smaller elements of our lives, is crucial for scientific advances and…