Category: digital
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Fracture is now published
My new book, Fracture | The collision between technology and democracy—and how we fix it, has now been published. It’s available from Amazon around the world, and should be available soon to order from your favourite local bookshop in the UK and USA. UK direct Amazon link US direct Amazon link Fracture is available in…
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Toxic by design
Digital, data, and technology (DDaT) are increasingly being misused to create a 24×7 surveillance society, behavioural manipulation and, in some countries, institutional discrimination and subjugation. This surveillance increasingly underpins private sector revenue and state control, online and offline. All too often, it can seem like there’s little to distinguish between governments and global businesses as they indulge in…
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A state machine for the state machine
Digital, data, and technology (DDaT) are being used to build shared platforms and infrastructure, and to improve the user experience of government services. But improving services within their current policy and administrative silos won’t achieve the “digital transformation” much spoken of and little delivered. Let’s step back briefly to 1996 to understand why. In July…
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‘Fracture’—an overview
I thought I’d add a bit more detail about my next book exploring the interplay of politics, policymaking, and digital, data and technology. Right now, it’s in three sections: ‘The backstory’, ‘Digital trends’, and ‘Policy and technology’, plus a concluding summary with some ideas for action. Here’s a brief insight into the current scope and…
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Book extract (work in progress)
My book exploring digital, data and technology—and how politicians and policymakers can understand and use them more effectively—is (slowly!) taking shape. It’s currently around 270 pages, but that’s before I give it a severe haircut. Anyhow, here’s a short draft extract from work in progress … I’ll post more raw samples over coming weeks and months.…
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The policymaking / DDaT divide
I’m making steady progress with my new book. It explores the gap between politics, policymaking, and digital, data and technology (DDaT). More importantly, it looks at how we fix that gap. As it takes shape, I’ll continue sharing odd snippets and thoughts to provide a flavour of what it’s all about. Despite politicians’ grand ambitions…
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‘Fracture’—politics and technology in the digital age
I’ve finally got back to working on my book ‘Fracture’ (working title). It’s about the intersection of politics, policymaking and technology — subjects I’ve worked on and written about in blog posts, books and related articles over the past decades. It will also include previously unpublished material from my work with governments, civil society and…
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“Dysfunctional, damaging and sometimes dangerous”
“Dysfunctional, damaging and sometimes dangerous” That’s how the Public Accounts Committee describes government technology in the press release that accompanies their latest report, “Challenges in implementing digital change“, published today. They found some encouraging signs that parts of government understand that digital isn’t about polishing and automating existing services, but that overall: “Departments have failed…
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Back to the past with government identity
The Government Digital Service (GDS) has a generous £400m budget to develop “One Login”, a single sign-on and digital identity system for government services. But it comes with a nagging sense of déjà vu: although billed as a fresh approach, it’s remarkably similar to the solution implemented in 2001 by an earlier Cabinet Office team at a cost…
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UK Government Platforms | Revisited
The UK Government was a platform pioneer. It was amongst the first to understand the potential of platforms in the design and delivery of public services—to improve how public service providers and users could interact with each other. Early in the move to put public sector information and services online, the UK recognised that many…
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What can politicians learn from Universal Credit?
The unfortunate saga of Universal Credit is a powerful reminder of the repeated failure to successfully integrate policy making with technology. A failure that comes with profound human consequences and suffering, not just a financial cost. Universal Credit (UC) aimed to deliver a radically better approach to welfare benefits, one that would provide: “A dramatically…
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The political cost of legacy systems
Passengers arriving at airports across the UK recently encountered irritating delays because of problems with the automatic eGates. One likely cause is the Home Office’s long-running programme to improve the safety, security and efficiency of the UK’s border by modernising its technology: while the eGates are not legacy technology, they rely on systems that are.…
new tech observations from the UK (ntouk) 