Connected by data

Open Letter to the UK Government - Prioritising AI Literacy for All Citizens

Tim Davies ▪ Jul 8, 2025

On 9th June the Prime Minister announced a skills drive on AI focussed technical/functional skills for students and workers, with the announcement centred on industry collaborations, and economic impacts of AI.

Drawing on inputs from a meeting of the Charity AI Taskforce, and from the Data & AI Civil Society Network, and with feedback from contributors listed below, we drafted an open letter to call for a greater focus of investment and action on scaling and sustaining comprehensive critical AI literacy programmes for all citizens.

The letter was open for signature over June, and has been sent to the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Science, and Secretary of State for Education.

A full copy of the letter can be found here and if you would like to receive updates on any government response or be invited to a follow-up online conversation, please complete the form here.

Beyond Tech Experts: Public Voices Must Shape AI's Future

Guest ▪ Jun 5, 2025

An op-ed written by the PVAI People’s Advisory Panel

The upcoming government spending review is likely to place a big emphasis on the potential of AI to update public services, and yet less than 25% of the population feel their views and values are represented in current decisions being made about AI. As a group of citizens from all walks of life, engaged over the last year in exploring how the public could, and should, have a voice shaping a responsible AI future, we believe that needs to change. And it can.

Getting the best from a public advisory panel

Anna Beckett ▪ May 6, 2025

Recently I’ve had the privilege of convening a couple of public advisory panels for large-scale research and evaluation programmes, including the Connected by Data Public Voice in AI (PVAI) People’s Advisory Panel. In both cases the panels led to tangible improvements in the programmes they were advising, but running these sessions was not without its challenges. Here I share some reflections on how to work well with a public advisory panel.

Seeking examples of participatory digital governance

Tim Davies ▪ Mar 5, 2025

Over March 2025 we’re mapping out organisations and projects across the globe that are giving communities a voice in the governance of digital technology in public or private sectors as part of a rapid research project for the Open Government Partnership.

Saving money with AI in the UK public sector

Jeni Tennison ▪ Feb 21, 2025

A strategic approach to the adoption of AI in the public sector should focus investments in places that will make a difference. Saving money is one of the big priorities for this government, so where should it target AI to realise those ambitions?

Data Policy Digest

Gavin Freeguard ▪ Mar 3, 2025

SOMETHING STIRS!

Hello, and welcome to our 29th Data Policy Digest, bringing you all - well, some of - the latest data and AI policy developments.

You may remember that we put the Digest on pause while we seek sustainable funding for it. Those efforts are ongoing (and please let us know if you have any feedback). But given just how much has been going on, we thought it was worth putting out a slimmed-down version (no, really, it actually is) to help you catch up on what’s been happening on data and AI policy, in the UK parliament and government, at least.

Weeknotes are a combination of updates and personal reflection written on a routine basis