public policy, technology and society – democracy in an age of change

The intersection of public policy, technology and society is complex. And yes, that’s something of an understatement. A mix of politics, law, design, architecture, usability,

payday loans and the missed opportunity?

In our book Digitizing Government: understanding and implementing new digital business models, there’s a table illustrating how often grand announcements have been made around the

The wellsprings of UK digital reform part 2 – separating porcine lip enhancement from transformation

Previously This is the second episode of a mini-series of blogs looking at the origins of the UK government’s digital reform programme since 2010. Part

The wellsprings of UK digital reform part 1 – the backstory

While there are some great pockets of work taking place to deliver better public services, the UK government’s overall attempts at technology-enabled, or “e-government” or

Manifesto for Better Public Services

Last night at the Institute for Government, I helped launch the “Manifesto for Better Public Services”, along with an accompanying and much more detailed “Better

“Artificial Intelligence” and the House of Lords inquiry

Below is a copy of my submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. Intentionally absent are more sensitive aspects of AI

the inadequate scope of public sector “reform”

In the 1999 book “Reinventing Government”, information is placed at the centre of the government reform model: The rings identify multiple aspects that need to be addressed

improving data science ethics

Just over a year ago the UK’s data science ethical framework was put out for consultation. The purpose of the framework was to give civil

the identity / data divide

Proving who someone is online and letting them access their personal data – such as their tax, welfare, pension or medical records – often get

the canary that ceased to be

Yesterday I resigned from the Cabinet Office‘s Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group (PCAG) nearly 6 years after I first became involved, initially as its Chair and more

… the end of biometric security?

This piece on “Imitating people’s speech patterns precisely could bring trouble” in the Economist caught my eye. It mentions a new technology that means any voice—including

better use of data

I’ve been using the following simplified slides in briefings and discussions about “data sharing” and the “data sharing” provisions in the Digital Economy Bill. I thought