Transparency data

Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation Minutes - Board Meeting 12

Updated 12 October 2023

This transparency data was withdrawn on 16 October 2023

This content is no longer current. The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) Advisory Board closed on 9 September 2023.

30th April 2020

Remote Board Meeting^{[footnote 1]}

Attendees (dialling in)

• Roger Taylor (RT)
• Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft (SC)
• Luciano Floridi (LF)
• Dame Patricia Hodgson (PH)
• Baroness Kate Rock (KR)
• Dame Glenys Stacey (GS)
• Prof Lord Robert Winston (RW)
• Dr Adrian Weller (AW)
• Edwina Dunn (ED)
• Richard Sargeant (RS)

Apologies:

• Kriti Sharma (KS)
• Dr Susan Liautaud (SL)

Observers (CDEI staff for sections of the meeting relevant to their work):

• Ollie Buckley (OB)
• Mark Durkee (MD)
• Benedict Dellot (BD)
• CDEI Team Members

Guest speakers (item 5 only)

• David Railton
• Tom Begley
• Tom Nixon

Item 1: Chair’s Welcome

The Chair (RT) welcomed the Board to the remote meeting. Apologies were given by SL and KS.

Declaration of interests:

• There were no declared interests.

Minutes from previous Board meeting:

• Board approved the minutes from the previous Board meeting.

Actions:

• CDEI to publish the minutes on gov.uk.
• CDEI to publish the Board Register of Interests.

Item 2: Updates

Chair’s update:

The Chair provided a brief update on the CDEI’s ongoing support to NHSX both through embedded staff members and the Ethics Advisory Board for the contact tracing app.

Executive Director’s update:

OB provided Board Members with a CDEI wide update on the changes to the structure of the team and areas of focus whilst the Centre is taking a Covid-first approach to prioritisation. OB followed with an update on CDEI recruitment and resourcing.

Item 3: AI Barometer

The AI Monitoring team provided an update on the AI Barometer development, including visual improvement and signposting. The AI Monitoring team will be adding mentions from the team’s Covid-19 monitoring work to ensure the AI Barometer content remains relevant and sensitive to the present context. The team also provided an update on the current design and publication work currently underway for the AI Barometer. The Board discussed the substantial development of the AI Barometer and made the following points:

• The Board welcomed the progress on the AI Barometer.
• The Board underlined the importance of including a narrative that would underpin the AI Barometer and draw out more clearly the role and purpose of the CDEI.
• On the content of the AI Barometer, the Board held discussions on, inter alia, working with the Geospatial Commission on the heat maps present in the AI Barometer, linking the AI Barometer with other similar initiatives from other countries in future iterations, as well as the shelf life of the AI Barometer and the frequency of updates.
• Regarding publication plans and comms strategy, the Board held a discussion on the adequate channels for stakeholders to feed in content for the AI Barometer.

Actions:

• CDEI to incorporate the Board comments into the AI Barometer and seek Board approval on the final draft via email in mid-May.

Item 4: C19 Monitoring Programme

The AI Monitoring team provided an update on the reorientation of its work programme to focus on Covid-19. This includes the creation of a C19 Repository to monitor how AI and data-driven technology are being used to soften the impact of the pandemic. The AI Monitoring team informed the Board that it will implement this work in stages, with the intention now to socialise the findings of the C19 Repository through several external facing activities. This includes C19 Intro blogs, which will explain how and where specific applications of technology are being used in C19 response efforts, and C19 Forums, which will bring together civil society and experts to collectively identify key risks and opportunities presented by these use cases.

• The Board held discussions on, inter alia, how best to run these planned activities, what issues they should focus on, and the role that the CDEI might play in shaping public debate and promoting good governance of the technology.
• The Board also held a discussion on the foresight value of the Repository; the compromises that need to be made to promote innovation during the pandemic; the potential to run a PESTLE analysis that would inform the CDEI’s priorities over the coming months; and the importance of promoting new uses of AI and data-driven technology that could help to reopen workplaces and restart the economy.

Actions:

• CDEI to publish the Covid-19 Repository and Intro blog posts in the coming weeks as part of our updated communications strategy.

Item 5: Bias Mitigation Approaches

The CDEI has recently initiated work with Faculty Data Science, a specialist AI firm, to carry out a technical analysis and comparison of approaches to bias identification and mitigation in decision making algorithms. This followed a competitive procurement exercise completed last year. Three Faculty representatives presented an update to the Board on the scope and approach of the work as well as progress made so far.

Item 6: Communications Update

The Board held a discussion on the updated CDEI communications strategy and publication plans for the upcoming three months. The Board discussion reinforced the importance of CDEI maintaining its independent voice, providing clarity and keeping a public presence.

Item 7: AOB and Closing

1. The Board meeting happened remotely via online video conference due to Government guidance to work from home, in response to Covid-19, coming into effect from 17th March. ↩