Hello ODI Supporter,
Palantir has been given unlimited access to identifiable patient data by NHS England while working on the National Data Integration Tenant (NDIT). The measure was outlined in an internal briefing note from April, seen by the FT. Palantir won the £330 million contract to build the NDIT in 2023, which will bring together NHS data into one system. Individuals working on the NDIT previously had to apply to NHS England for access to specific data sets. Now, Palantir staff - and potentially consultancy staff brought in to work on the project - will have an ‘admin’ role which permits non-NHS England staff access to the platform and the identifiable patient data contained within. However, MPs have warned the health body that the decision is “dangerous” and could damage public trust, displaying a “cavalier attitude to data security”. Health Secretary Wes Streeting… huh? Oh. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting said earlier in the week that making patient data accessible in one place via the Single Patient Record (SPR), announced in the King’s speech on Wednesday, would be a “gamechanger” that would save lives. He’ll have less to say about it now.
Last week, some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Oxford, Harvard and MIT, had their data exposed in a cyberattack on the Canvas learning system. This week, the owners of Canvas, Instructure, paid the hackers not to release the stolen data online. Around 3.5 terabytes of data, affecting 9,000 institutions in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US, was stolen, disrupting exams. The stolen data included student ID numbers, email addresses, names and messages on the Canvas platform, although there was no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, or financial information were exposed, according to the platform’s owners. The data was returned to Instructure after they paid the hackers, who provided “digital confirmation” that remaining copies of the data had been destroyed. However, the company acknowledged they had no way to be sure that the data had been erased permanently.
As the dust settles on last week’s local elections, data suggests that in England, you stand a better chance of getting elected for your party if your name is listed nearer the top of the ballot paper, with a surname at the start of the alphabet. In wards where a party fielded three candidates, those with a name listed near the top of the ballot paper finished ahead of party colleagues 65% of the time. Candidates of the same party who were listed third on the list were only voted for 11% of the time. Roughly 74% of alphabetically advantaged Reform candidates came top of their party’s vote, with the Green party next in line for the surname effect, followed by Labour.
There’s still time to get tickets for our webinar on the government’s consultation on Digital ID Consultation on Wednesday 20 May, while on Wednesday 27 May our Director of Research Professor Elena Simperl will be de-mystifying data-centric AI. And don’t miss our Executive Chair Sir Nigel Shadbolt on Thursday 16 July as he joins us to cut through some of the critical issues in the field.
And finally… the usually serene Chelsea Flower Show has seen some controversy this year before the gardens are even completed. Award-winning designer Matt Keightley is using AI to design his garden this year, and has launched a new app to help people design gardens from scratch. Other designers have gone as far as to call it a betrayal. Looks like the RHS has something else to worry about than just gnomes.
Until next time.
David and Jo
