Upcoming and previous events

Presentations, panels and conferences

What Labour should(n't)do on data and AI policy in the first 100 days

Jonathan Smith ▪ Oct 9, 2023

AI, data rights, the power of big tech, online safety… digital, data and technology policy is breaking into the political mainstream like never before. Any incoming Labour government will need to make the most of the opportunities afforded by new tech and the better use of data to deliver on its industrial strategy and public services plans – while protecting the public against the risks, hype and vested interests. So what should a Labour administration do – and not do?

Resources for Effective & Inclusive Public Deliberation on Data & AI Governance (Design Lab)

Tim Davies ▪ Nov 22, 2023

What does it take to have informed, empowered and deliberative dialogue about the impacts of data and artificial intelligence?

We’re convening a group of 20 thinkers and practitioners who work on public engagement, data and artificial intelligence to co-create a toolkit that will support the deliberative governance of technology.

Previous events

Data and AI Governance - securing meaningful commitments on transparency, participation and redress (Design Lab)

Tim Davies ▪ Sep 4, 2023

As datafication accelerates, and algorithmic or artificial intelligence systems are adopted across public and private sectors, governments need to adopt bold measures that can deliver effective governance of data and AI. Three critical aspects of this will be transparency, public participation, and redress. However, policy advocacy in these areas has been relatively underdeveloped. This design lab developed model committment drafts to inform future open government action.

Investigating how AI is understood and impacting Welsh workers and trade unionists

Adam Cantwell-Corn ▪ Aug 2, 2023

Wales TUC are looking into how AI is affecting workers across different sectors, and how trade unionists are managing the increasing roll out of data-driven technologies

Wales TUC - supported by Dr Juan Grigera from Kings College London and Adam Cantwell-Corn from Connected by Data - are investigating how workers in a range of sectors are responding to digitalisation and AI at work. This write up is intended to capture the key comments by the workers, which will later inform a full report.

Artificial intelligence is having a dehumanising effect on workers as they are continuously monitored. What’s more, it’s leading to workers being deskilled, their tasks restructured and sometimes managed out of their jobs.

Artificial intelligence is cleverer than you, workers told

Adam Cantwell-Corn ▪ Jul 27, 2023

New technology is being forced on workers without consent. But trade union members are determined to resist the negative aspects of artificial intelligence.

Wales TUC are looking into how AI is affecting workers across different sectors, and how trade unionists are managing the increasing roll out of data-driven technologies.

Wales TUC - supported by Dr Juan Grigera from Kings College London and Adam Cantwell-Corn from Connected by Data - are investigating how workers in a range of sectors are responding to digitalisation and AI at work. This write up is from the second workshop in the project. The first write up is available here.

Parliamentary event: The worker experience of the AI revolution

Adam Cantwell-Corn ▪ Jun 20, 2023

Amid the hype and worry about the data-driven transformation of our world, there is often something conspicuously missing: personal stories. They ground our understanding that this change is not a remote future, but is a reality in progress that is affecting every relationship and interaction we have, as workers, family members, consumers and as citizens.

In an effort to address this and build on these case studies, Connected by Data worked with Mary Towers of the TUC’s AI project and affiliate unions to support three workers with direct experience of AI to be in conversation with MPs. On the 20th June, in the grand setting of Committee Room 9 of the House of Commons, a packed audience of trade unionists, policy professionals, politicians and journalists heard first hand how AI is affecting workers in the here and now.

Data Justice - Collective Experience in the Datafied Society

Maria Luciano ▪ Jun 19, 2023

Three members of the Connected by Data team (Maria, Helena and Tim) attended the Data Justice conference in Cardiff on 19th and 20th June. On the 20th we ran a workshop to trial our game-based activity for exploring data governance, and we engaged in sessions across the rest of the conference, capturing notes on a number of these as written up below.

Cloud Cafe - Are the machines taking over?

Tim Davies ▪ Jun 14, 2023

Tim spoke as part of this online panel with Natalie Bennet (Green Party, House of Lords) and Steve Wells.

The panel explored potential impacts of AI, and pathways for AI regulation.

Re-imagine Data Rights Now!

Jeni Tennison ▪ Jun 7, 2023

Jeni will be speaking in this RightsCon dialogue “Reimagine data rights now! protecting individual data isn’t enough when the harm is collective”, chaired by Martin Tisné from Luminate, Zeynep Tufecki from Colombia University, Urvashi Aneja from the Digital Futures Lab, and Jun-E Tan from the Khazanah Research Institute.

We have a huge problem in the field in that the entire regulatory infrastructure to hold big tech to account, to support our rights online is based when it comes to data is based on individual rights alone.

Collective, democratic and just. Towards a new global agenda on data governance policy and practice

Jeni Tennison ▪ Jun 6, 2023

Jeni chaired this RightsCon roundtable, bringing together Astha Kapoor from the Aapti Institute, Alison Gillwald from Research ICT Africa, and Carolina Rossini from the Datasphere Initiative.

To date, most data governance laws, policies and frameworks around the world have focussed on addressing individual data harms, and creating individual rights. However, we believe the governance of data needs to better account for data’s relational qualities, collective harms and public value.

Policy Design Lab - A global policy agenda on collective data governance

Tim Davies ▪ Jun 4, 2023

On 4th June, CONNECTED BY DATA, in partnership with Aapti Institute, Research ICT Africa, Aapti Institute and The Datasphere Initiative convened a workshop to explore global policy agendas on collective data governance.

The session explored building shared language, mapping policy landscapes, developing policies for collective data governance, and prioritising local and global advocacy opportunities.

Future Data Narratives Design Lab

Jonathan Smith ▪ May 25, 2023

On Thursday 25th May 2023, CONNECTED BY DATA and Future Narratives Lab held a narrative design lab workshop, bringing together invited experts to start the co-creation of a strategy for shifting the inaccurate, damaging way data is currently framed & understood in media, policy and industry narratives.

The session followed a process of identifying problems, exploring promising solutions, and identifying opportunities for action. Discussions took place through three distinct tracks focussing on policy and politics, media, and industry.

Network of the Datasphere Meeting

Tim Davies ▪ May 24, 2023

Tim attended a meeting of the Network of the Datasphere.

Ada Lovelace Institute roundtable on the AI White Paper

Adam Cantwell-Corn ▪ May 22, 2023

With the UK Government’s Artificial Intelligence White Paper out for consultation until 21 June, the Ada Lovelace Institute convened a roundtable of various stakeholders under Chatham House rules to discuss responses to the landmark document.

DPDI Bill Committee Oral Evidence

Jeni Tennison ▪ May 10, 2023

Parliamentary scrutiny of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (No.2) kicked off on 10 May 2023 with the opening day of the Public Bill Committee.

The cross party Committee, comprised of 17 MPs and chaired by Ian Paisley Jr (DUP) and Philip Hollobone (Con), is charged with scrutinising the Bill line by line and will run to no later than 13 June.

On the first day, the Committee heard evidence from a range of stakeholders, including the ICO, business and tech interests and civil society, including CONNECTED BY DATA’s Jeni Tennison.

Gloucestershire Data Day

Tim Davies ▪ Apr 26, 2023

The first Gloucestershire Data Day (#GlosDataDay) took place on April 26th 2023, supported by Connected by Data along with Creative Gloucestershire, Active Gloucestershire and Barnwood Trust. It brought together 150 participants representing grassroots community groups, local authorities, artists, data scientists and national government agencies to discuss ways to be inspired, informed and empowered with data.

Global Observations on the State of Open Data

Tim Davies ▪ Apr 20, 2023

Tim chaired a discussion on ‘Global Observations on the State of Open Data’ as part of a series of roundtables organised to update the State of Open Data book.

Grassroots Poverty Action Group workshop

Alan Hudson ▪ Apr 20, 2023

On Thursday 20th April, the Connected by Data team (Tim, Obioma and Alan) participated in a meeting of the Grassroots Poverty Action Group (GPAG). This group provides regular input for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), helping to ensure that the Foundation’s work is informed by people with lived experience of poverty and inequality from across the UK. We met with the members of GPAG as part of the stakeholder and ecosystem mapping that we are doing with JRF to support the design of a poverty insight infrastructure.

Infrastructure Ecosystem Workshop - Design

Obioma Egemonye ▪ Apr 19, 2023

We recently hosted our penultimate JRF ecosystem mapping and engagement workshop to discuss our working draft of stakeholder engagement and the governance strategies for the insight infrastructure project.

Artificial Intelligence: the Democratic Challenges

Jeni Tennison ▪ Mar 17, 2023

Jeni spoke on this panel, organised by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and chaired by Cllr Lisa Smart, at the Liberal Democrat Spring Party Conference 2023, alongside Silkie Carlo from Big Brother Watch and Martha Dark from Foxglove Legal.

Responsibly unlocking the value of data for all - Moving beyond the battle of narratives

Tim Davies ▪ Mar 17, 2023

Tim attended and participated on the panel for this full-day workshop at the Sciences Po Law School, co-organised by Datasphere Initiative, Aapti Institute and the Ostrom Workshop.

A partial write-up can be found in Tim’s weeknotes.

Working Group Meeting on Data Communities

Tim Davies ▪ Mar 16, 2023

Tim attended a working group meeting on Data Communities organized by Sciences Po Law School’s Towards a Digital Rule of Law Initiative and the Datasphere Initiative, with the Aapti Institute and the Ostrom Workshop.

Reflections from the workshop can be found in Tim’s weeknotes here.

Open Call on DPDIB Mk2

Jonathan Smith ▪ Mar 15, 2023

As the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill continues its erratic legislative journey, we convened an open call for interested parties to share, discuss and maybe act together. In this open Zoom meeting, Gavin Freeguard chaired an open discussion of first reactions and thoughts in a confidential and trusted space.

A Progressive Vision for Data and Tech

Jonathan Smith ▪ Mar 9, 2023

On Thursday 9 March 2023, CONNECTED BY DATA, working with Labour Together, convened a workshop with experts from civil society (and Labour advisers) to consider:

what principles should underpin progressive data, digital and technology policy
what some specific policies could look like

Justice Data Matters Next Steps Workshop

Jeni Tennison ▪ Mar 6, 2023

On 6th March 2023, CONNECTED BY DATA organised a workshop for Justice Lab (an initiative of the Legal Education Foundation), to explore the next steps they should take around their work to increase public participation in the governance of data within the justice system.

The workshop brought together researchers, civil society advocates and campaigners, journalists and practitioners to explore the questions:

What does it take to make work in this space influential?
What topics are most likely to generate buy-in?
What methodological approaches are most effective for influencing decision making?
Who needs to be engaged when developing public engagement research, and how?
Which decision makers/decision points should work in this space target? E.g. decisions about the way data is created, or how data is used?
What’s the communications strategy around the work needed to achieve impact?

Infrastructure Ecosystem Workshop - Dream

Tim Davies ▪ Mar 6, 2023

On 6th March 2023, we hosted the second of our workshop sessions to explore the potential ecosystem around, and stakeholder engagement in, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) plans to develop an Insight Infrastructure on poverty in the UK.

You can read a write-up of the workshop here.

Infrastructure Ecosystem Workshop - Discovery

Tim Davies ▪ Feb 21, 2023

On 21st February, we hosted the first of our workshop sessions to explore the potential ecosystem around, and stakeholder engagement in, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) plans to develop an Insight Infrastructure on poverty in the UK.

You can read a write-up of the workshop here.

Ensuring People Have a Say in Future Data Governance

Gavin Freeguard ▪ Dec 5, 2022

On 5th December 2022, CONNECTED BY DATA organised an event in parliament, hosted and chaired by Lord Tim Clement-Jones, to explore three key areas around the future of data governance: automated decision-making, data at work and data in schools.

These are all areas that could be affected by the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, expected to return to parliament for its second reading at some point in 2023. We think the Bill represents an opportunity to influence how data is governed in a more democratic and participatory way, but worry that – in its present form – it undermines existing safeguards and misses the chance to extend democratic data governance.

The three areas under discussion also represent domains where growing data collection and use could have both significant benefits and harms in the future, regardless of what happens to the Bill. The event invited opening contributions from civil society and academic experts on each topic before opening up to a wider discussion. The experts were on the record unless they requested otherwise, with everyone else being unattributed under the Chatham House Rule.

IGF 2022 How can data justice be realised practically?

Jeni Tennison ▪ Dec 2, 2022

Jeni spoke at this roundtable at the 2022 Internet Governance Forum, convened by Research ICT Africa, alongside Abeba Birhane and Anita Gurumurthy, chaired by Alison Gilwald.

IGF 2022 Town Hall of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network

Tim Davies ▪ Dec 1, 2022

During a session of the 2022 Internet Governance Forum, Tim spoke to the launch of a new paper on ‘Data Governance and the Datasphere’, providing a bibliometric-driven literature review of academic and policy work on data governance.

Examining Cooperative Governance of Data & Technology - from Principles to Action.

Tim Davies ▪ Nov 4, 2022

Tim participated in the the London workshop organised by CIFAR on Examining Cooperative Governance of Data & Technology.

The workshop, linked to the Data Communities for Inclusion three year programme of work exploring the creation and governance of an ”open-access data infrastructure platform” intended to “help women agricultural workers in India gain fair access to a competitive marketplace”.

MyData Online 2022

Jeni Tennison ▪ Oct 27, 2022

Jeni spoke in a closing dialogue with Martin Tisné, Vice President at Luminate Strategic Initiatives, about The data delusion: protecting individual data isn’t enough when the harm is collective.

Civic Participation in the Datafied Society - Towards Democratic Auditing?

▪ Oct 10, 2022

Tim and Jonathan attended a launch event for the Data Justice Lab report, “Civic Participation in the Datafied Society - Towards Democratic Auditing?” and the associated website Datafied Society

The state of automation in the UK public sector

Jeni Tennison ▪ Oct 6, 2022

Jeni spoke on this panel alongside Laura Gilbert, Director of Data Science at No.10 Downing Street; Dr. Hatim Abdulhussein from Health Education England; and Lisa Allen from the Open Data Institute.

In the wake of the pandemic, the government aims to make significant cost savings by reducing the civil service headcount. Technology, it says, can help shoulder the burden of this reduced workforce.

This has put automation in the spotlight. RPA was touted as a way to cut through the admin backlog that piled up during lockdowns, and many public sector bodies put it to good use. But can it really replace a significant proportion of the civil service’s workforce?

This panel will assess the state of play for automation, including RPA and its combination with AI and other process technologies, in the UK public sector, and ask how the public sector can get the most out of the technology.

What Should Change in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill?

Jonathan Smith ▪ Sep 29, 2022

On 30th September 2022, CONNECTED BY DATA organised a civil society workshop to explore the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.

As we wait for the date for the second reading of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, many civil society organisations have different concerns and interests, and can see different opportunities and risks.

Here at CONNECTED BY DATA, for example, we think the Bill presents a real opportunity to influence how data is democratically and participatively governed, to ensure it works for us all, as part of the UK’s post-GDPR future. However, we also fear that, in its present form, the Bill reduces individual citizens’ control and influence, removes transparency and key safeguards, limits opportunities for engagement and ignores evidence about the collective and equality impacts of data processing and AI.

How should we govern in the digital age?

Jeni Tennison ▪ Sep 27, 2022

Jeni spoke on this panel, organised by the Institute for Government with support from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, at the Labour Party Conference 2022.

Technology is profoundly reconfiguring our society, creating new opportunities but also new risks and inequalities. Many politicians and policymakers have a limited understanding of technology and its effects, yet government has no choice but to grapple with these issues. How do we take technology out of the box labelled ‘digital policy’ and give it the attention it needs at the heart of policy and public life? How should we reform government to take advantage of technology? What kind of state do we need in a digital age?

RSS International Conference 2022

Jeni Tennison ▪ Sep 12 - 15, 2022

Jeni gave the Significance Lecture during the Royal Statistical Society 2022 Conference that took place in Aberdeen in September.

Roundtable - Data sharing during the pandemic – GPDPR

Tim Davies ▪ Jul 21 - 21, 2022

Tim participated in a roundtable discussion exploring learning from public participation around the ‘General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR)’ programme.

Data Trusts Initiative - Governance and engagement workshop

Tim Davies ▪ Jul 14 - 14, 2022

Tim participated in a workshop organised by the Data Trusts Initiative, and led by Simon Burral of Involve, exploring approaches to embed participatory governance into the pilot data trusts supported by DTI.

American Society of International Law: An Exchange on International Law and the Datasphere

Tim Davies ▪ Jun 30, 2022

Tim participated on the panel for a webinar titled “Data, Human Groups, and Norms: An Exchange on International Law and the Datasphere” for the International Law & Technology interest group of the American Society of International Law.

Digital Futures Commission: Education Data Reality

Jonathan Smith ▪ Jun 29, 2022

Jonathan attended the online launch of the Digital Futures Commission report on the reality of education data.

Open Future Salon #1: Introducing the Public Data Commons. B2G Data Sharing in the Public Interest

Tim Davies ▪ Jun 23, 2022

Tim was one of the respondent panelists for the first Open Future salon on ‘Introducing the Public Data Commons: Business-to-Government data sharing in the public interest’.

State of Open Data Roundtable: Open Data & AI

Tim Davies ▪ Jun 22, 2022

Tim chaired a discussion on Open Data and AI as part of a series of roundtables organised to update the State of Open Data book, with Jeni appearing as one of the three panelists.

Data Power Conference 2022: Dialogues in Data Power

Tim Davies ▪ Jun 22, 2022

Tim was an online participant in the hybrid Data Power 2022 Conference.

SciDataCon: A data-driven systems approach to the net zero transition: A control loop for the protection of the planet

Jeni Tennison ▪ Jun 21, 2022

Jeni spoke on the panel, discussing GPAI’s work on data stewardship to address the climate crisis and making the case for more community-level involvement.

Digital technology is increasingly recognised for its potential to bolster international efforts to address climate change: a complex global challenge that calls for a data-driven systems approach. To this end, climate models, using earth observation data and running on supercomputers, have been central to understanding and finding solutions climate change.

Workshop on Practical GeoAI Ethics

Jeni Tennison ▪ Jun 16, 2022

Jeni spoke at the workshop, describing some of the ways in which organisations are bringing the public into the processes of data governance.

Putting the "good" in health data as a public good?

Jeni Tennison ▪ Jun 7, 2022

Jeni spoke on the RightsCon panel “Putting the ‘good’ in health data as a public good?”.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the collection of health data – underscoring the importance of good governance to uphold the highest standards of data protection and respect human rights. In June 2021, the World Health Organization called for a new global consensus on “health data as a global public good,” with a focus on data sharing for improved health outcomes. But what does health data as a public good mean in real-world contexts?

RightsCon 2022

Jeni Tennison ▪ Jun 6 - 10, 2022

Both Jeni and Tim attended RightsCon, which is the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age.

It was a full-on event, with a week’s worth of panels and discussions and often four or five sessions to choose from at any one time. We barely scratched the surface, but here are our reflections from the sessions we did manage to attend, in particular focusing on how they relate to our work at CONNECTED BY DATA.

OECD Webinar: From Data Stewardship, Access, Sharing and Control to National Data Strategies

Jeni Tennison ▪ May 13, 2022

Jeni spoke on the panel: Measures for fostering trust and addressing unjustified barriers to data openness.

Given the benefits of digitalisation and data openness and the legitimate concerns and risks, it is fundamental to build effective and trustworthy data governance arrangements (e.g. regulations, policies and practices). Without effective approaches, stakeholders can face significant barriers when trying to access, share and re-use data within and across organisations, sectors and jurisdictions.

Digital Responsibility Symposium 2022

Jeni Tennison ▪ May 5, 2022

I spoke on the panel: The future of the UK’s digital economy, alongside Bojana Bellamy, John Whittingdale MP, Mahlet Zimata and Cyrus Mewawalla, at the New Statesman and Tech Monitor’s Digital Responsibility Symposium 2022.

The government’s ambition to make post-Brexit Britain a global tech hub could result in the rollback of data protection laws, with the focus turning towards encouraging and enabling technological innovation. What impact will this have on business technology, and those who lead it? Are short-term returns for investors being prioritised over long-term trust in technology? Is GDPR legislation likely to be an early casualty of the government’s strategy – and if so, what can businesses expect in its place?

CDEI Teach-in

Jeni Tennison ▪ Apr 27, 2022

I was invited to present to the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation team about the work we’re doing at CONNECTED BY DATA.

CDEI work on the governance of data-driven technology, including an ongoing strand on public attitudes to data and AI.

Bennett Institute for Public Policy Annual Conference 2022

Jeni Tennison ▪ Apr 22, 2022

Jeni attended the Bennett Institute for Public Policy Annual Conference 2022, which will explore the most pressing public policy issues facing governments and populations amidst plans for economic recovery, resilience, and prosperity.

Lessons from history for governing the digital future

Jeni Tennison ▪ Apr 5, 2022

Jeni spoke on this panel with leading experts on learning from history to manage technological change as part of the Cambridge Festival 2022.

Ada Lovelace Institute Public Attitudes to Data Roundtable

Jeni Tennison ▪ Mar 31, 2022

On 31st March 2022, the Ada Lovelace Institute held an invite-only roundtable about public attitudes to data, focused on three questions:

What do we currently know about UK public attitudes towards the regulation of data?
What are the gaps in our understanding of those attitudes?
How can we work together to address those gaps?

The event will be written up properly by the Ada Lovelace Institute. I was only in one of the breakout rooms so didn’t hear everything that was said, but do want to reflect on the conversation from a Connected by data perspective. It was held under Chatham House rules, so I won’t be able to attribute the points made in the conversation.

Bennett Institute Brown Bag Lunch

Jeni Tennison ▪ Mar 8, 2022

As one of their affiliated researchers, I was asked by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy to give a brown bag lunch to discuss my thoughts on collective data governance.

After the presentation, the discussion focused on three areas:

How to make participatory approaches effective
How to get to the future we want to see from where we are now
What other sectors or historical shifts to learn from

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