Weeknote 6.0
Aaaaand we’re back for another wild edition of the IfG’s future technology in government weeknote. If you need a reminder of why we’re here, check out Weeknote 1.0 (doesn’t time fly…), which gives an overview of our project and what we’re trying to do with it.
Framing issues
Gavin wrote a couple of weeks ago about our (ongoing) attempts to develop a framework that sensibly groups the different technologies we’re thinking about in this project. But that’s not the only framework we’re playing around with (as Gavin said at the time, we’re a think tank…we live for frameworks!).
We’ve been trying to work out how best to explain the foundations underpinning this ‘fourth industrial revolution’ the global elite keeps on talking about. As we acknowledged towards the end of our explainer the other week, developments in AI, VR and other technologies are enabled by advances in a whole host of more infrastructural technologies: broadband, sensors, server farms, specialised computer chips, etc. But what do these things actually enable you to do?
Our current working framework is that they change how you collect (mobile devices, wearables, sensors), store (improved memory, cloud computing), communicate (broadband and other network technologies) and process (more advanced chips, cloud computing again) data. These categories are interrelated — our ability to communicate data more efficiently across a network is what makes sensors and cloud computing valuable, for instance. But we think it might be a more nuanced (and comprehensive) way of thinking about things than simply saying ‘we have more data and more powerful computers’.
We’re also thinking about a framework for the challenges facing government in its attempts to realise the potential of technology. As a first pass: some are longstanding and haven’t really changed (skills, culture, leadership), some are pre-existing but have become increasingly important (data sharing, privacy, cyber security), some are perennial challenges in government that take a different form in a future tech context (accountability, procurement, research funding), and others are wholly new (impact on workforce, issues with bias and explainability in the deployment of algorithms, etc.).
Speaking of the workforce impact, we reckon we’ll need yet another framework to help make sense of the different tasks civil servants do as part of our report on the how they might be affected by technology in future. Hopefully we can then try and match that up with the tech framework to make the interplay between the two easier to understand…
Any other frameworks we might want to be thinking about?
Three things that happened this week
1. Data Bites was the big one. For the third edition, we had talks from the Geospatial Commission, ONS, BEIS and the NAO about some of the excellent work they’re doing. Watch it back here if you missed it (or just want to relive the action).
2. Gavin’s was in Berlin to chat to the Hertie School of Government about agile governance (more on that below and next week…).
3. Further to his reading last week, Lewis has started compiling a list of UK Government strategies, frameworks, guidance and other publications in the tech space. Just to have them all in one place, because that seems helpful. Far from comprehensive, so please throw in additions — will continue to grow and reformat it as the weeks go by.
People we chatted to
- Gavin spoke to various international guests at the Hertie School of Governance while he was in Berlin. More on that below. He also spoke to the Global Public Policy Institute — who’ve recently published some work on the future of work and automation in Africa — and CityLAB Berlin, a really interesting project with a civil society organisation working with the city government to use open data (they launch next week).
- The lovely attendees at Data Bites, about the scope for AI to transform the procurement process (government could automatically identify which proposals are likely to result in positive outcomes, while companies could automate the creation of the proposals themselves — which could all get quite confusing), transform academia (e.g. by automating lit review), and more.
What we’re reading and thinking about
- Marcus has been getting back up to speed after a lovely break in the countryside. He’s looking forwards to attending CogX next week in King’s Cross, in particular the sessions on the future of work. He’s also been reading through the ICO and Turing Institute’s interesting new interim report on AI decision making — Project ExplAIn
- Gavin is mainly recovering from a busy week of Data Bites and Deutschland, and thinking about sleeping at some point on Sunday. He will actually gather his thoughts about a really interesting trip for next week’s weeknote. He’s about to run to the Barbican Centre to talk politics, poverty and technology with JRF’s Claire Ainsley, and is curating a series of lightning talks (which definitely resemble Data Bites in no way whatsoever, oh no) tomorrow afternoon. Do come along. There’s slightly more detail on his slightly mad week in today’s Warning: Graphic Content newsletter.
- Lewis has been reading up on quantum technologies, since they’re not something we’ve really considered in this project so far. But if we’re properly talking about future tech, we should at least have one eye on the horizon. More accurate sensors allowing even greater precision in data collection, and more powerful computers to run complex simulations on are only a couple of possible use cases. But it sounds as though new quantum technologies could also make it possible to do entirely new things again — not just existing stuff faster or better. No one seems to think this is going to happen imminently, but a 10–20y time horizon isn’t that long… Only scratching the surface atm, so shout if you have any good resources and I’ll get my head down and do some more reading.
What’s coming up next week?
So much stuff, it’s bonkers…conference season is properly kicking off. If you’re around for any of the below and fancy linking, give us a shout :)
- It’s the IfG’s 10th Anniversary Conference on Wednesday, including sessions on developing people and skills, outsourcing and — most relevant to our work, since we’re planning to write a whole report on it(!) — the future of policy making. Gavin will be chairing the policy making event, which will feature a keynote speech from Sendhil Mullainathan followed by a panel discussion with Sendhil, Rachel Glennerster (Chief Economist at DfID) and David Halpern (Chief Executive of the Behavioural Insights Team). You can watch it live from 3.15 here, and/or follow along on Twitter, where Lewis will be frantically trying to keep up using the @ifgevents account and #IfG10.
- Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill gets the last say at IfG10 on Thursday evening from 5–6 (just before the big party…) with a keynote speech on future public service challenges. Not sure how techie he’ll go, but definitely worth keeping an eye on. It’s fully booked, but again you can hit up the livestream.
- Before all that, it’s CogX. The three of us are going to try and get along to as much of its fun-packed programme as we can — particularly on Tuesday, when our diaries are looking a little more free…!
- On Monday morning, the New Statesman is hosting ‘Man vs Machine? AI and the Future of the UK’ — a sold out event with Sam Gyimah MP and Kay Firth-Butterfield from the WEF. At least one of us is planning to make it along to that…
- During the day on Monday, Gavin is hoping to drop into the FutureGov conference at Hackney Town Hall, which also has a great line-up. Then in the evening, Lewis is heading to another sold out event, this time at the King’s Policy Institute, on ‘Rethinking Democracy: Can Democracy Survive in the Digital Age?’.
- And that’s not all…Bloomberg Live’s flagship tech conference, Sooner than you think, runs over Tuesday and Wednesday, and it’s the London AI Summit on Wednesday and Thursday. Not sure any of us are going to be able to make it to those, but might see some interesting bits and pieces coming out of them.
- Stuff’s still going on in Parliament, too:
o The Commons Science and Technology Committee is taking evidence on ‘UK telecommunications infrastructure’ from a mix of academics and industry bods (including Huawei), on Monday at 3.15
o The SciTech lot are back on Tuesday morning at 9.45 for a session on ‘Commercial and recreational drone use in the UK’
o The Commons Defence Committee will be hearing about the ‘Domestic threat of drones,’ again on Tuesday at 9.45
o The Commons Defra Committee is taking evidence on ‘Rural broadband and digital only services on Wednesday at 9.30
o On Tuesday evening, the APPG for Future Generations is running an event on ‘Drones, Swarming, and the Future of Warfare’
- Already feeling exhausted, and the week hasn’t even started…
Any last thoughts?
· As ever, let us know if you have any thoughts or feedback. Email (digital@instituteforgovernment.org.uk) or Twitter or commenting on this or whatever works best for you — it all works for us. Until next time!
