Hello Newsletter,

This week, England’s NHS announced plans to create a database of 55 million patients’ medical histories , to be shared with third parties to improve research and planning. The database will include sensitive data, including information on criminal records, mental and sexual health, and abuse. While many agree that linking up health data could have huge benefits, there are concerns that the plans are ‘legally problematic’ – with patients only having a few weeks to opt out of their data being used, and it is still unclear who exactly the data will be shared with.

Across the pond, Google has teamed up with a US hospital chain to develop healthcare algorithms using patient data. Google and HCA Healthcare will be using data from 32 million annual patient interactions in order to develop custom tools for the hospitals, including alert systems that will enable clinicians to respond quickly to any changes in a patient’s condition, and workflow tools to support non-clinical departments.

In other news, WhatsApp has made headlines after announcing that it will be taking the Indian government to court over controversial new laws that will increase the government’s ability to monitor online activity. The laws would require WhatsApp to remove encryption so that messages can be pulled into a database and monitored for illegal activity. However the Facebook-owned app has said it will not store user data in this way, and has launched a legal challenge on the basis that this would violate the right to preservation of privacy.

And finally, don’t forget: our ODI Summit pre-sale ends on 14 June at midday – join us to discuss and celebrate the relationship between people and data, and what it means for us all to be ‘data people’. And, if you just can’t wait until November to get your ODI fix, why not join us for our ODI Fridays lunchtime lectures? Today at 13:00, artist Nick Briz will be discussing his artwork howthey.watch/you . Or join Dr Sue Chadwick , Strategic Planning Advisor at Pinsent Masons LLP (and ODI research fellow!) next Friday as she discusses how the government has made and applied legislation about data and digitalisation.

Until next time,

ODI Production Team
Carrie , Caley , Hannah , Becky and Emma

England’s NHS to share patient data

England’s NHS announced plans to create a database of 55 million patients’ medical histories, to be shared with third parties to improve research and planning

Google teams up with hospital chain to deliver healthcare algorithms

Google and HCA Healthcare will be using data from 32 million annual patient interactions in order to develop custom tools for the US hospital chain

WhatsApp to take Indian government to court over privacy laws

WhatsApp has filed a legal challenge against the Indian government over controversial new privacy laws that will require WhatsApp to make more user data accessible

Concern about China’s emotion recognition tech

The Guardian explores China’s use of emotion recognition systems, including the implications it could have on human rights and privacy

Calling AI colleagues & collaborators

The AI Council, supported by The Alan Turing Institute, is seeking the views of the AI ecosystem to help shape National AI Strategy. To have your say, take this online survey before 20 June, 23:59 BST

State of Open: The UK in 2021 – Open UK survey (closing 10 June)

Open UK is looking for people across UK business and public sector to respond to its survey on open source software uptake in businesses with a UK presence. Responses will feed into Open UK’s ‘State of Open’ report, which will be launched at a digital drinks event on 7 July

ODI Summit 2021 pre-sale

Tickets for our ODI Summit 2021, which will take place on 2 November, are available for pre-sale until 14 June at midday

ODI Fridays: Artist Nick Briz on howthey.watch/you – Fri 28 May, 13:00 BST

Nick Briz discusses his artwork that exposes the tracking technology built into our everyday experience of internet browsing

ODI Fridays: Government legislation and data ethics – Fri 11 June, 13:00 BST

This talk explores the government’s practice in one specific area – making legislation relevant to data and digitalisation – though a forensic review of relevant statutes and regulations made in 2020