Data Policy Digest

Gavin Freeguard

Gavin Freeguard

Hello, and welcome to our 24th Data Policy Digest, bringing you all the latest data and AI policy developments, with something of a back-to-school feel - though it’s not as if, for those of us following data and AI policy, it feels like there was much of a break at all.

MPs will be easing back into Westminster with a debate - TODAY - on technology in public services. We’ve produced a short briefing that might be handy for the parliamentarians in your life, or if you expect to be glued to BBC Parliament or Parliament TV this afternoon. The Commons Library have also got you covered.

The blue sky of summer [sic] may be receding into the past, but the Bluesky of social media may be the future. A reminder you can follow Connected by Data there, along with most of the team - Jeni, Tim, Adam, Emily, me. We’ve also pulled together a starter pack and list of members of the Data and AI Civil Society Network who’ve joined the X-odus and migrated there - give me a shout if we’ve missed you (or you’d like to join).

If there’s something we’ve missed, something you’re up to that you’d like us to include next time or you have any thoughts on how useful the Digest is or could be, please get in touch via gavin@connectedbydata.org. We’re on Twitter @ConnectedByData and @DataReform. You can also catch up on previous Digests.

To receive the next edition of the Data Policy Digest direct to your inbox sign up here.

Contents

Data policy developments

What we’ve been up to

What everyone else has been up to

Events

Good reads

Data policy developments

Bills, bills, bills

Digital Information and Smart Data Bill (DISD) We’re still waiting to hear when this bill will come to parliament - rumours suggest it could be some time in the autumn, though Politico Morning Tech UK says it’s ‘unlikely’ to come before party conference recess - and how much of the old Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will make it through.

That doesn’t mean it’s been quiet…

Algorithmic transparency (included in the original consultation, the subject of several DPDIB amendments) Warnings AI tools used by government on UK public are ‘racist and biased’: Transparency campaigners welcome government move to publish details of system algorithms (The Observer) Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (DPDIB planned to abolish the post, so the most recent appointment had been made with that in mind) Resignation of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (UK Government)… Police Digital Service taps up former biometrics commissioner as interim CEO (Computer Weekly)… Postcode Address File (subject of an amendment to DPDIB) FOI release: Royal Mail’s view on a House of Lords proposal for open address data in the UK (Owen Boswarva)… This confidential government report proves that we need to liberate the Postcode Address File (James O’Malley)… Things that are definitely going to be covered by the new Bill An introduction to the NUAR Data Model (Geospatial Commission)… No, the government isn’t planning to introduce ID cards: What the government is actually planning for digital ID (James O’Malley)… Using the power of smart data to unlock business lending (Open Banking - summarises a new report from them and the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology).

And the most important bit of bill news… thanks to those who completed our poll on how we should abbreviate the new Bill. The winner was DISD, pronounced ‘dissed’, with ‘dizzed’ in second and DISDaB and DISD-ee in joint third(/last). I’m not sure where this would have finished.

AI Bill We’re waiting for a date on this one as well, with conflicting rumours on whether it’ll be later this year/early next. Plenty of government-related AI news in the DSIT section, below.

Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill We await a date (Politico says this one is also unlikely before conferences kick off) but as we noted last time out, this may come sooner rather than later.

On a related note… EXCL: Cabinet Office looks to ‘address cross-government capability gap’ with deal for Microsoft intel on nation-state threats (Public Technology)… British Library reveals £400,000 plan to rebuild after “catastrophic” ransomware attack (The Stack)… Judge orders NHS hackers to unmask and hand back data (Computing)… Crashes and Competition (Stratechery)… What I learned from the ‘Microsoft global IT outage’ (DoublePulsar).

Other King’s Speech Bills Let’s start with the Employment Rights Bill… Australians get ‘right to disconnect’ after hours (BBC)… Starmer signals support for ‘right to switch off’ (Public Technology)… UK Tones Down Worker ‘Right to Switch Off’ Demands on Firms (Bloomberg)… Product Safety and Metrology Bill… Brexit Britain creeps back into Brussels’ orbit under Labour (Politico, which also says this one could come before conference)… Planning and Infrastructure Bill… Council leader declares support for data centre plan (BBC).

Online Safety Act There’s more on social media and the riots below, but… Labour to review Online Safety Act amid riot disinformation fears (The Times)… Britain considers tougher internet safety laws after riots, Musk comments — what you need to know (CNBC)… ‘Why the Online Safety Act Won’t Stop Type of Misinformation that Sparked Riots – the Government Must Create New Legislation’ (Byline)… Online Safety Act not fit for purpose after far-right riots, says Sadiq Khan (The Guardian)… Some thoughts on ‘beefing up’ UK social media laws (Theo Bertram)…

Online Safety Act: Research claims social sites are failing to remove harmful content (Public Technology)… Andy Burrows appointed as first MRF CEO (Molly Rose Foundation)… ‘Nothing stopping’ child abuse image sharing on WhatsApp, group warns (BBC)… Why we should ban all money from politics and kids from social media (Peter Malinauskas, premier of South Australia, on The Rest is Politics)… Zuckerberg says he regrets caving to White House pressure on content (Politico)… Underexplored Ways to Regulate Social Media (Tech Policy Press).

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act CMA looks to new digital markets competition regime to resolve app store concerns (CMA)… About the claim (Google Play Store Developer Claim)…

And while we’re on digital competition… Go, ogle some of these links… What Should We Do About Google? (New York Times)… “Google is a Monopolist” – Wrong and Right Ways to Think About Remedies (Tech Policy Press)… US considers breaking up Google after illegal monopoly ruling, reports say (The Guardian)… Friendly Google and Enemy Remedies (Stratechery).

Private Members Bills There’s a ballot this week for MPs to put forward ideas for Bills, while in the Lords, there’s one coming on public sector automation. More in Parly-vous data, below.

Other In the UK, Update on implementing the Media Act (Ofcom)… in Europe, Commission sends request for information to Meta under the Digital Services Act (European Commission - Euractiv cover the story)…

And in California… SB-1047 Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act, AI initiatives would get $40M annually in draft California journalism bill agreement [see if POLITICO free or other good write-up]… AI initiatives would get $40M annually in draft California journalism bill agreement (Politico)… Why Silicon Valley is trying so hard to kill this AI bill in California (CalMatters)… Big AI names weigh in to endorse California’s AI act (Computing)… OpenAI joins opposition to California AI safety bill (FT)… California’s controversial AI bill is on the verge of becoming law (Platformer)… Controversial California AI bill can inspire and enhance EU AI regulation, experts say (Euractiv)… California’s sweeping AI safety bill passes first major hurdle (Politico).

DSIT up and take notice

It’s summer, they said. It’ll be quiet, they said. It’ll be the first proper August silly season for years, they said.

Not in data, AI and tech policy…

The non-digital centre of government

Let’s start with things occupying No 10, the Cabinet Office and the Treasury that will have an impact.

The PM gave a speech on ‘fixing the foundations of our country’, which included this line: ‘We’ll move forward this autumn with harnessing the full potential of AI, for growth and the public good.’ He also visited Germany, Prime Minister to drive UK growth on European visits as he launches major German partnership, with a new treaty (to be negotiated over next six months) expected to include ‘critical science, innovation and tech’. There have also been reports of tensions in Downing Street - Britain’s most powerful woman goes to war (Politico)… Downing Street fights charge Sue Gray is creating ‘bottleneck’ (FT)… ‘Look out for fireworks’: power struggle rumours between No 10 big beasts persist (The Guardian) - which have touched on special adviser and similar appointments.

Last time we noted the controversy around some appointments, including at DSIT. That story has continued to run… Did the Civil Service Commission know about Emily Middleton’s “political activity” when they approved her role? (Henry Newman)… Glen urges Civil Service Commission to investigate alleged ‘cash for jobs’ appointments (CSW)… Civil Service Commission to review appointments made by exception at delegated grades (Civil Service Commission)… UK Labour faces a scandal of its own making (Politico)… and Politico also reports that ‘the previously anticipated appointment of Tony Blair Institute director Jeegar Kakkad’ to be a special adviser to Pat McFadden ‘appears to have been held up’, but the MInister for the Cabinet Office has made some other appointments. Meanwhile mySociety has made the latest register of MPs’ interests data available in a spreadsheet with much richer data,, so you can see who has donated to whom.

There’s a spending review coming, which will set out public spending plans… ‘Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has now written to cabinet ministers ordering them to find reforms and deploy technology that can save cash’ was The Observer’s take… Departments asked to find tech efficiencies in spending review was Public Technology’s summary… while the Observer also had a piece on how Britain could be a sci-tech superpower – if the Treasury stopped holding it back.

The Times had a piece on the government’s proposed ‘mission control’ for tracking delivery of its priorities, Keir Starmer’s No 10 nerve centre has echoes of Dominic Cummings. Cue interesting responses from Rachel Coldicutt, David Henig, Ciaran Martin, Mark O’Neill, James Plunkett on dashboards and no doubt others I’ve missed.

The digital centre of government

Moving to DSIT… I’m one of the people discussing the efforts to make DSIT the digital centre of government in Refreshing the homepage: Experts discuss the pros and cons of the digital government shake-up (Public Technology)

Opportunity, knocked Let’s start with AI. In our last edition we mentioned the AI Opportunities Unit and Matt Clifford being tasked with drawing up an action plan. DSIT tweets suggested they were engaging with some people outside government, but not parts of civil society, which led to quite the debate. (And the government’s approach to civil society in other briefs may be worth watching.) Politico Morning Tech UK also noticed unhappy start-ups underneath a DSIT post on LinkedIn.

We’re hoping to have Matt Clifford at a forthcoming meeting of the Data and AI Civil Society Network - in the meantime, you can email your thoughts on the action plan to aiactionplan@dsit.gov.uk (though do it quickly, we’re expecting something to be published soon). Form Ventures and Air Street Capital have published their submissions to the review - let us know if you’ve spotted any others.

Automation, automation, automation While we’re on the subject of who’s influencing the new government’s tech policy… Politico had a piece on Tony Blair’s AI mania sweeps Britain’s new government (which may have a long shelf life). It came a few days after a thread from Jeni on tech-utopianism which may have mentioned his Institute for Global Change. TBI also published new reports, Reimagining Procurement for the AI Era and Preparing the NHS for the AI Era: A Digital Health Record for Every Citizen; health policy journo Andy Cowper was critical of some of the thinktank’s work on health and data/AI; and the man himself was in the Observer talking about his new book on leadership, with a bit on AI and digital ID: Tony Blair: ‘I would have stayed if I could, is the truth’.

Not so super? More reaction to the axing of a previous supercomputer project… UK government plans fresh investment in supercomputing despite axing aid (FT)… UK reshapes its AI strategy under pressure to cut costs (Reuters)… ‘Donelan was a fantasist who over-promised for good optics’ (Mike Butcher)… ‘We’re confused by the government creating an AI Opportunities taskforce days before canning investment, and now backtracking’ (Air Street Capital)… and former Tory leader William Hague thought Scrapping this tech project is not so super (The Times), and wrote that Starmer can unleash innovation if he wants which included questions about where the government’s plans for a Regulatory Innovation Office had got to (Politico reports that work is ongoing, and the Office ‘is a key priority for this government’ according to a government spokesperson said).

Digital government EXCL: GOV.UK App to serve ‘nine core functions’ and set for wide release in summer 2025 (Public Technology)… Deloitte signed to £50m deal to support delivery of GOV.UK App (Public Technology)… GOV.UK Verify providers complete deletion of all user accounts (Public Technology)… Improving Legislative Drafting with Lex (ai.gov.uk)… GDS ramps up ‘capability delivery’ for One Login with £44m deal (Public Technology)… Alternative text in action, on AI and alt text (‘Accessibility in government’ blog)… Are we lost? (Gina Gill, CDDO)…

At arm’s length APPOINTMENTS: Appointment of Council Members (UKRI)… Future communications technologies (GO Science)… Hazel Hobbs appointed as interim Chair of Building Digital UK (DSIT)… Geospatial Commissioner: Innovation v Standards (Government Transformation Magazine)… Tackling barriers to privacy-enhancing technologies adoption - a PETs project report (ICO)… How to access information from a public authority (ICO)… Generative AI fifth call for evidence: allocating controllership across the generative AI supply chain - you have until 18 September (ICO)…

Everything else DataConnect - a week-long virtual festival for public sector data leaders - is happening later in September (our very own Tim will be involved with one event on the Tuesday). Though I must say I’m disappointed that, unlike previous years, registration seems to be restricted to the public sector only - and that one of the opening events appears to be a manel.

Patrick Vallance says he ‘would not have been a minister under Tories’, as applications for the chief executive of UKRI were reopened (see the press release which also includes a call for a new Innovate UK chair)…

And… UK innovation diffusion and adoption survey… Data protection fee regime: proposed changes… Head of Data Science (domain-specific) (via the invaluable Internet of Public Service Jobs)… secondment opportunities into the AI analysis team (via Tom Westgarth)… DSIT Main Estimate memorandum 2024 to 2025… UK Science and Innovation Network updates on Germany and the Philippines…

Plus… you can check out who DSIT ministers, spads and senior officials were meeting and receiving hospitality from between January and March.

Everywhere else

Education Minister Morgan’s speech made at the Global Education and Innovation Summit in the Republic of Korea (DfE, DSIT)… Teachers to get more trustworthy AI tech as generative tools learn from new bank of lesson plans and curriculums, helping them mark homework and save time (DfE, DSIT)… Research on parent and pupil attitudes towards the use of AI in education (DfE, DSIT)… Government commits £4m to equip AI firms with education data to create tools for teachers (Public Technology)… Education data reuse for AI development (Defend Digital Me)… Automated austerity schooling (Code Acts in Education)… UK’s first ‘teacherless’ AI classroom set to open in London (Sky News - or, ‘school which continues to employ “learning coaches” seeks publicity’)… Ex-DfE data chief: new government’s top priority must be overhauling data strategy (CSW)… Reimagining university assessments for the age of AI (Reform, the thinktank, not etc)…

Health Three years as National Data Guardian: what I have learnt (National Data Guardian)…** **Prior UK goverment planned £485M four-year budget for Palantir-based healthcare system (The Register - and on the subject of Palantir, Alex Karp Has Money and Power. So What Does He Want?, New York Times)… DHSC recruiting director duo to ‘radically transform our digital transformation function’ (Public Technology) AI and the NHS: is it the silver bullet that will improve the health service’s productivity? (Jess Morley for Nuffield Trust)… Building a better understanding of UK health data (ONS)… The reality of, and potential for, digitally enabled care in the community (King’s Fund)… Foresight - sharing data to battle blindness (Rory Cellan-Jones)… AI in Healthcare: Designed for Progress or Profit? (Pain News Network)… AI data-sharing deal ‘breaks national guidance’ (HSJ), Privacy concerns raised over trust’s AI data-sharing deal (Digital Health)… UKHSA signs £900k deal to ‘streamline data operations’ (Public Technology)… The best medicine: How the MHRA is using AI to support scientists and thwart threats (Public Technology)…

Stats-land ONS officials to escalate office-attendance dispute (CSW)… Updating the picture of post-pandemic UK economic growth (ONS)… We need to make data sharing across UK government the rule, not the exception (Robert Chote, chair of the UKSA, for The Observer)… Data Sharing and Linkage for the Public Good: Follow-Up Report (OSR)… JOB: Deputy Director of Strategy and Policy (ONS)…

Cyber UK Cyber Spies Plan AI ‘Lab’ to Counter Hostile State Threats (Bloomberg, and thread)… Fast Stream adds cybersecurity track in scheme shakeup (CSW)… Post-quantum cryptography: what comes next? (National Cyber Security Centre)…

DWP DWP grows trials of generative AI and reports ‘no immediate concerns’ from fairness assessment of fraud algorithm (Public Technology) - Public Law Project were unimpressed by DWP’s annual report… Tony Blair thinks the DWP could be automated by AI. Here’s why that’s so dangerous (Big Brother Watch for the Big Issue)… Anna Dent looked at a speech from sec of state Liz Kendall on the future(s) of DWP…

Environment UK to receive earlier flood and drought warnings using high-tech sensors and real time monitoring (Defra, DSIT, UKRI)… NSTA picks up trio of digital prizes in stellar month (Government Transformation Magazine)… The road to net zero is paved with high-quality data (CSW)… they presented at Data Bites last September… Greener Services in Government: from ambition to action (Government Transformation Magazine)…

Home Office Government orders review of tech sector shortages (Computing)… New appointments to the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group (Home Office)…

London Transport for London explores use of tech and data to ‘drive changes in fare evader behaviour’ (Public Technology)…

Out of London Public dialogue on the use of data by the public sector in Scotland (Scottish Government)… Data Science Accelerator – It’s about the journey not the destination (Scottish Government)… MHCLG looks for leader to deliver digital services with focus on ‘funding and data exchange’ (Public Technology)… GPA reveals plans for Manchester digital campus as consultation opens (CSW)… Shape the market and buy better stuff (Catherine Howe, Adur and Worthing)… Chief Analyst, Office for Local Government (Oflog) (job share) (via the indispensable Internet of Public Service Jobs)… Newly created Office for Place seeks digital chief (Public Technology)…

Other HMRC records 60% rise in serious personal data incidents in FY24 (Public Technology)… Companies House business plan 2024 to 2025 (Companies House)… The UK launched a metascience unit. Will other countries follow suit? (Nature)… APPOINTMENT: Non-Executive Director Technology (Post Office, via Internet of Public Service Jobs)…

Outside government Prioritising AI and AI Adoption (Jeni for Connected by Data)… Connecting the data dots: how government can proactively support working parents (dxw)… Embracing the digital age: A mission-driven framework for local government transformation (Public Technology)… Statistics Under Pressure – case studies, including Tracking and transparency: the UK Covid-19 dashboard (Royal Statistical Society)… AlphaGeometry and National Data Libraries (Tom Westgarth)… How to Build Progressive Public Services with Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (Political Quarterly)… Gettin me digit out: Towards a finished report and a theory of state… A weak centre is strong (Gordon Guthrie)… DEEP-DIVE: UK Government Data Maturity in 2024 (Government Transformation)… ‘Ask good questions, build good teams’: Top civil servants on leading digital from the front (CSW)…

Digital inclusion One voice across sectors: Reflecting on roundtables to fix the digital divide (Good Things Foundation)… An open letter from FutureDotNow to the Secretaries of State for Education and Science, Technology and Innovation, co-signed by a coalition of cross-sector leaders (FutureDotNow and others).

Party people

Tory story In addition to Lord Hague’s musings (see above)… Andrew Griffith: Technology will save us – but only if Labour lets it (ConservativeHome)… Ousted MP Liz Truss Accused of Being in ‘Denial’ About Defeat as she ‘Clings to Constituent Casework’ (Byline Times - there’s a data protection angle)…

Labour movement Labour and the Lobbyists (LRB)… Action taken against Labour Party for failing to respond to requests for personal information on time (ICO)…

Data reform Reform UK tracked private user information without consent (The Observer).

Conference calls

Party conference season is upon us, where party members, campaigners, lobbyists and journalists gather to hear speeches and panel discussions, debate motions (for some parties, and to varying degrees), and hope that a surfeit of beige buffet food will be sufficient to soak up all the free alcohol.

SNP conference took place in Edinburgh over the weekend. Still to come:

Also, the TUC Congress is happening in Brighton, 8-11 September, and there are several motions on AI (scroll down to 73 to 76, for example).

Jeni, Adam and I will be in Liverpool for Labour conference - drop us a line if you’d like to meet. And we’re delighted that Connected by Data, with our friends at Careful Industries and the Minderoo Centre, with support from the Startup Coalition, Zoom.Info and the Open Data Institute, will be putting on a drinks reception, ‘Building tech for everyone’, 6-8pm on Sunday 22 September, at Madre Mexican restaurant near the conference centre.

We’ve also pulled together a spreadsheet of data, tech and AI-related events at the different conferences. We’ll update it as more information becomes available - though feel free to add anything we’ve missed (or drop us a line).

Parly-vous data?

As we noted in the intro, Parliament returns today with the Commons debating ‘technology in public services’. We’ve published a short briefing, and the Commons Library also has a primer for the debate. The debate could start at any time from around 3.30pm and run until 10pm - though, given it’s the first day back, expect there to be ministerial statements and urgent questions that could delay the start for a long while. The PM is listed as moving the motion, though in reality it may end up being another minister - they’ll then be followed by a Conservative shadow minister, contributions from other MPs (which may include relevant spokespeople from other parties and previous members of relevant select committees), and then a Conservative shadow minister and government minister to wrap up. Conference recess runs from 12 September to 7 October, and when parliament returns there are DSIT questions (Wednesday 16 October), DCMS questions (Thursday 17 October) and Cabinet Office questions (Thursday 24 October) to look forward to.

Some important Commons dates before then:

  • Thursday 5 September, when the Business Statement will tell us what’s coming up…
  • …and there’s a ballot for which Private Members’ Bills will go before the House. You can watch the numbers being drawn from a bowl LIVE, like it’s the lottery or a cup draw (h/t the excellent Hansard Society newsletter)
  • Monday 9 September, when nominations close for select committee chair elections. A Labour MP will chair the Science, Innovation and Technology committee, while committees to be chaired by Tories include DCMS, PACAC and Public Accounts (they’re allocated based on the election result and discussions between whips)
  • Wednesday 11 September, when MPs from all parties will vote for select committee chairs. Chi Onwurah (previously a shadow DSIT minister) and Dawn Butler (previously a member of the SIT committee) are contesting the chair of Science, Innovation and Technology. Elections for select committee members will follow at some point - these are also allocated according to election results, but with only MPs from each party voting for their representatives (rather than the whole House).

In the Lords… 3 September: the Communications and Digital Committee has an evidence session on Digital Competition, and there’s a debate on the first report from the Covid Inquiry which had something to say about data… 5 September: there’s an oral question on the Ability of current online safety legislation to regulate abuse, including racism, islamophobia, homophobia, and sectarianism, on social media platforms from Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab) (there’s a riot-related question the day before from Labour’s Lord Sikka)… 9 September: Lord Clement-Jones’ (Lib Dem) Private Members’ Bill on automated and algorithmic decision making in the public sector is expected to be introduced, and there’s a debate on Improving the performance, independence and accountability of UK Regulators following a select committee report… and on 12 September: Lord Dubs (Lab) has an oral question on ‘False information through electronic media’.

Additionally… Loot boxes in video games (Commons Library)… Accountability, independence and performance of UK regulators: House of Lords committee report (Lords Library)… and Artificial intelligence: A reading list (Commons Library).

AI got ‘rithm

International 2025 AI Action Summit // Inscription to the webinar for Civil society organizations (AI Action Summit)… U.S. AI Safety Institute Signs Agreements Regarding AI Safety Research, Testing and Evaluation With Anthropic and OpenAI (NIST)… Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-being: Principles for Developers and Employers (US Department of Labor)… The EU AI Act: National Security Implications - Explainer (Cetas, Alan Turing Institute)… Towards an AI Act that serves people and society (European Center for Not-for-Profit Law)… Exclusive: New Research Finds Stark Global Divide in Ownership of Powerful AI Chips (Time)… How Innovative Is China in AI? (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation)… Where scientists can move the needle on global AI safety collaboration (Chatham House)… and the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence will be signed on Thursday - Politico reports that the UK is yet to decide whether it will sign (the European Commission and the US will)…

On the bubble Is AI a bubble that’s about to burst? (CBC)… How AI’s booms and busts are a distraction (Vox)… The Big Tech hype cycle often goes nowhere (The Times)… Biggest US companies warn of growing AI risk (FT)… Artificial intelligence is losing hype (The Economist)… AI assistants: Helpful or full of hype? (Ada)… Transcript: Rethinking the AI boom, with Daron Acemoğlu (FT)…

Environment How Tech Companies Are Obscuring AI’s Real Carbon Footprint (Bloomberg)… A Just Transition Means Resisting AI (Dan McQuillan in Scottish Left Review)…

Big tech Apple Intelligence is coming. Here’s what it means for your iPhone (The Guardian)… How Microsoft spread its bets beyond OpenAI (FT)… Apple and Nvidia may invest in OpenAI (The Verge)… Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Is Battling With Governments Over Your Eyes (Wall Street Journal)… US Tech Is Holding Back Some AI Products From Europe (Bloomberg)… Grounding AI Policy: Towards Researcher Access to AI Usage Data (Center for Democracy & Technology)… Harmful ‘Nudify’ Websites Used Google, Apple, and Discord Sign-On Systems (Wired)… Musk’s new Grok upgrade allows X users to create largely uncensored AI images (Ars Technica)… OpenAI co-founder Schulman leaves for Anthropic, Brockman takes extended leave (TechCrunch)… Big Tech’s talent raids on AI start-ups sideline early investors (FT)… Google’s James Manyika: ‘The productivity gains from AI are not guaranteed’ (FT)… Copilot AI calls journalist a child abuser, Microsoft tries to launder responsibility (Pivot to AI)…

Regulation AI needs regulation, but what kind, and how much? (The Economist)… Regulating Artificial Intelligence Must Not Undermine NIST’s Integrity (Tech Policy Press)…

Harms Banks and accounting firms should brace for cost of AI job losses, unions warn (FT)… People are falling in love with — and getting addicted to — AI voices (Vox)… ‘Never summon a power you can’t control’: Yuval Noah Harari on how AI could threaten democracy and divide the world (The Guardian)… A new public database lists all the ways AI could go wrong (MIT Technology Review)… What are the risks from Artificial Intelligence? (AI Risk Repository)… What is ‘model collapse’? An expert explains the rumours about an impending AI doom (The Conversation)… Using fear to sell AI is a bad idea (FT)… Human oversight of AI systems may not be as effective as we think — especially when it comes to warfare (The Conversation)… Growing demand on the dark web for AI abuse images (BBC)… Nonprofit scrubs illegal content from controversial AI training dataset (Ars Technica)…

Opportunities The secret to successful AI implementations? Worker voice (MIT)… AI scientists are producing new theories of how the brain learns (The Economist)… Letter: An AI-driven web doesn’t have to be full of fake news (FT)…

Generative AI Challenging The Myths of Generative AI (Tech Policy Press)… Have we stopped to think about what LLMs actually model? (The Register)… Do large language models have a legal duty to tell the truth? (Royal Society Open Science)… Buying Generative AI in Government (Paradigm Junction and PUBLIC)…

Creative industries Why A.I. Isn’t Going to Make Art (New Yorker)… ‘Megalopolis’ Cuts Ties With Marketing Consultant Behind Trailer Debacle; Fabricated Critic Quotes Were Generated By AI (Deadline)… Lionsgate Pulls ‘Megalopolis’ Trailer Offline Due to Made-Up Critic Quotes and Issues Apology: ‘We Screwed Up’ (Variety)… AI-Generated Images Are Spreading Paranoia and Misinformation. Can Art Historians Help? (Art in America)… AI could actually change the gaming industry (FT)… Pigs sign partnership with the meat grinder: Condé Nast is the latest company to capitulate to OpenAI with a deal to have its content chewed up and regurgitated (Mic Wright)… Procreate’s anti-AI pledge attracts praise from digital creatives (The Verge)… No one’s ready for this: Our basic assumptions about photos capturing reality are about to go up in smoke (The Verge)… He Made a Movie About Humans Rising Up Against AI. Now He’s Doing the Real Thing (Wired)… No laughing matter - how AI is helping comedians write jokes (BBC)… AI and the Future of Audio (Reuters Institute)… AI hit by copyright claims as companies approach ‘data frontier’ (FT)…

Elections The Year of the A.I. Election That Wasn’t (New York Times)… The deepfake election nightmare hasn’t happened. Singapore still wants to ban them (Rest of World)…

Sport At the Olympics, AI Is Watching You (Wired)… The AI tech aiming to identify future Olympians (BBC)… Premier League to bring in AI-powered camera system to speed up VAR process (The Guardian)…

Everything else We are a long way from truly open-source AI (FT)… The US wants to use facial recognition to identify migrant children as they age (MIT Technology Review)… South Korea’s plan for AI textbooks hit by backlash from parents (FT)… DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against RealPage, Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm (ProPublica)… A third of managers in the UK have never used AI (The Times)… The Problem With Counterfeit People (The Atlantic)… Are AI-created recipes hard to swallow? (BBC)…

And finally… A brief introduction to ‘strawberry guy’ and Lily Ashwood, The AI Guys Are Driving Themselves Mad (New York Magazine)… Is no one going to comment about how it spit out a woman in a bathing suit speaking at a tech conference or (Cher Scarlett)… English ChatGPT users flummoxed by language glitch as bot turns Welsh (FT)… Startup Alarmed When Its AI Starts Rickrolling Clients (Futurism - more here)…

And on dogs and diarrhoea, An Age of Hyperabundance: At the conversational AI conference (n+1).

In brief

Engaging content PEDRI: A place where people and data come together (PEDRI published by HDR UK)… PEDRI: Findings from our Public Consultation on the Best Practice Draft Standards for the Data for Research and Statistics (PEDRI)… How we involved the public in improving our standards (PEDRI)… March 2024 PEDRI-Alliance Workshop Report (PEDRI)… PEDRI Good Practice Standards Workshop Report 2024 (PEDRI)… AI in Digital Participation Tools – Where Do We Stand? (Democracy Technologies)… AI has a democracy problem. Citizens’ assemblies can help. (Jack Stilgoe for Science)…

States of play The Democrats have published their platform for the 2024 election - turn to page 72 for the tech stuff, with headings like PROTECTING KIDS ONLINE, STRENGTHENING AMERICANS’ DATA PRIVACY, & PROMOTING COMPETITION, and ‘Seizing the Promise and Managing the Risks of AI’… The Problem Is Not A.I. It’s the Disbelief Created by Trump. (New York Times)… Kamala Harris needs to take on Google and other monopolies (The Guardian)… The MAGA Aesthetic Is AI Slop (The Atlantic)… Trump Finds a New Benghazi: With his claims that Kamala Harris “A.I.’d” an image, Trump is playing a familiar language game (The Atlantic)…

Telegram Telegram: ‘The dark web in your pocket’ (BBC)… Le fondateur et PDG de la messagerie Telegram interpellé en France (TF1)… Macron on Telegram CEO’s arrest: French government was not involved (Politico)… The crazy life and times of Pavel Durov, Russia’s Elon Musk (Politico)… Macron loves Telegram. French judges hate it. (Politico)… How Telegram’s Founder Pavel Durov Became a Culture War Martyr (404 Media)… As France cracks down on Telegram, EU sits on the sidelines (Politico)… France charges Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, releases him on €5M bail (Politico)… Emmanuel Macron finally admits he gave Telegram chief French citizenship (Politico)… Telegram CEO’s brother also wanted by French authorities (Politico)… Pavel Durov Arrest Tracker (Tech Policy Press)…

Antisocial media “… what better policing tool could there be than one that tells you who is planning what, where they intend to go and what they intend to do?” (Jerry Fishenden on the riots - note the date on the article)… A week of unrest - and a week of silence from big tech (BBC)… Woman held over social media post after Southport killings (BBC), not forgetting the man who copied the police into a tweet (PA)… Britain’s far right enjoys unparalleled impunity on Telegram (Politico)… Yvette Cooper vows to crack down on promotion of ‘hateful beliefs’ (The Guardian)… How GB News and summer riots plunged Ofcom into crisis (Telegraph)… ‘It stains your brain’: How social media algorithms show violence to boys (BBC)… Social media’s role in the UK riots (Center for Countering Digital Hate)… Liverpool Mayor Says “Time Is Approaching” For Everyone To Consider Leaving X (PoliticsHome)…

X-rated Judge orders X ban in Brazil (The Verge)… Musk’s X banned in Brazil after disinformation row (BBC)… The burning of the Library of Alexandria for fandoms (Taylor Lorenz)…

How Elon Musk Got Tangled Up in Blue (New York Times)… Here’s who helped Elon Musk buy Twitter (Washington Post)… Bluesky: Social media site reports surge in new UK users after Elon Musk’s riot comments (Sky News)… Elon Musk and the danger to democracy (FT)… As an ex-Twitter boss, I have a way to grab Elon Musk’s attention. If he keeps stirring unrest, get an arrest warrant (The Guardian)… Labour MPs begin quitting X over ‘hate and disinformation’ (The Guardian)… Who’s afraid of Elon Musk? (FT)… Elon Musk said he’d eliminate bots from X. Instead, election influence campaigns are running wild (Rest of World)… Elon Musk’s X faces axe from anti-terror group over extremist content (The Times, see also Reuters)… Yemen weapons dealers selling machine-guns on X (BBC)…

How the Labour Government, and others, should respond to Musk (George Peretz)… ‘Threads is just deathly dull’: have Twitter quitters found what they are looking for on other networks? (The Guardian)… How to break up with your X (FT)… I, for one, will mourn Twitter (New Statesman)… Why Twitter was so valuable for pandemic science (Adam Kucharksi)… My breakup letter to X (Emily)…

Commissioner Breton writes to X… EU takes shot at Musk over Trump interview — and misses (Politico)… Europe ramps up its battle with Elon Musk (FT)… Civil society criticises Commissioner Breton’s approach to EU digital rulebook (Euractiv).

Everything else Politico’s Digital Bridge on Europe’s 5-year digital priorities… one to watch: Von der Leyen’s new Commission: The names we know so far — as Belgium misses deadline (Politico)… Taiwan makes tough decisions as it faces its worst drought in nearly a century (NPR)… Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Sues Gen­er­al Motors for Unlaw­ful­ly Col­lect­ing Dri­vers’ Pri­vate Data and Sell­ing It To Sev­er­al Com­pa­nies, Includ­ing Insur­ance Companies (Attorney General of Texas)… Taoiseach, here’s how to take action against extreme material online (Irish Times, and thread)…

Big Brother Watch have brought nearly 30 groups together for a letter ‘urging the PM to rethink plans to expand live facial recognition’ - the Independent has a write-up… No facial recognition? No problem! How London Bridge tested tech to track individuals inside the station (James O’Malley)… Surveillance Watch is an interactive map revealing the intricate connections between surveillance companies, their funding sources and affiliations (Surveillance Watch)…

Resetting “The US innovates, Europe regulates” (Form Ventures)… Meta has pulled the plug on CrowdTangle. Here’s what it means for users – and for everyone else (TBIJ)… How Technology can enable Violence against Women and Girls (Cetas, Alan Turing Institute)… Big Tech’s bid to rewrite the rules on net zero (FT)… US tech groups’ water consumption soars in ‘data centre alley’ (FT)…

The Great British ideas factory (Digital Frontier)… Drivers get Dart fines despite not using crossing (BBC)… Ethics in policymaking should not just be a tick-box exercise (CSW)… Council urges change to Freedom of Information rules (BBC)… JOB: Head of Policy and Public Affairs (BCS)… A farewell to Politico’s Digital Bridge newsletter…

Tributes paid to ‘UK’s greatest tech entrepreneur’ (BBC)… Mike Lynch yacht disaster: Missing tycoon’s ties to UK spy chiefs (Politico)… Mike Magee is dead (Channel EYE)… YouTube’s former chief Susan Wojcicki dies aged 56 (BBC, see also Wired).

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