Hello ODI Supporter,
The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced a shakeup of its inflation measure this week. From next month, inflation statistics will include data from more than a billion supermarket checkouts and online sales, replacing manual price collection. Mike Hardie, Deputy Director for Prices Transformation at the ONS, said “Now, rather than assuming the change in the price of one type of apple in a supermarket reflects all apples, for the shops supplying us with scanner data, we will be able to see how the price of every apple changes as well as knowing exactly how much of each type of apple is bought, so can adjust the figures for changing buying habits.” The ONS will also increase the sample data for hotels, in order to reduce price fluctuations linked to entertainment or sporting events, which can temporarily drive up demand and increase prices.
Many media organisations have seen web traffic and revenues dry up in the wake of Google's introduction of AI Overviews, with people reading the summaries rather than clicking through to the source journalism. However, that could be about the change with Competition and Mergers Authority (CMA) proposals this week that could give publishers and news organisations the power to stop Google from scraping their content. Sites had previously been unable to opt out of content scraping without also having to withdraw from traditional search, but now the CMA has launched a month-long consultation to allow publishers to opt out while maintaining their place in Google search. Google responded saying “We’re optimistic we can find a path forward that provides even more choice to website owners and publishers, while ensuring people continue to get the most helpful and innovative Search experience possible.”
A new survey this week - admittedly to coincide with Data Protection Day - found that almost 77% of EU internet users protected their data online in 2025. Just under 59% chose not to allow their personal data to be used for advertising, and a similar amount restricted access to their geographical location. Over 45% limited access to social media platforms. Users in Finland, the Netherlands, and Czechia took the most measures, while people in Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria took the least. And elsewhere this week, our Co-founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee was interviewed for the Guardian, during which he talked about Solid and its potential to change the way people share their data on the Web. Give it a read.
Our friends at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data are looking for sessions for when the Global Data Festival and the Kenya Space Expo & Conference come together in June this year. Don’t miss the opportunity to contribute your ideas and innovations, share and learn new skills, and inspire action. The event will take place in Nairobi, from June 2-5, leading a global conversation on how data, AI, and space technologies can drive a fairer, more resilient future. Learn more about how to submit a proposal.
There’s still time (just about) to get tickets for our webinar looking at public services and AI, which is part of our data-centric AI series. It’s on Thursday 5 February, 11:00-12:00 GMT, so book now. Solid World on Wednesday 18 February, 16:00-17:00 GMT will chart the course for the next era of the decentralised web and will explore the roadmap for Solid. And on Monday 23 February 16:00-17:00 GMT, we’re looking at ethical AI in action in the next webinar in our Data Ethics Professional series. Get your tickets for that one now.
And finally… if you’ve ever found yourself wondering ‘When I find a dinosaur footprint, how can I tell which dinosaur it came from?’ well, we’ve got some news for you. Researchers in Germany have developed an app that uses AI to identify dinosaur footprints. Users can upload a picture of a footprint and explore other footprints that are similar, with identification matching that made by human dino experts about 90% of the time. Jurassic Park!
Until next time.
David and Jo
