The AI Pulse

Issue #9 — 18th November 2024

Editor: Professor Alan Brown

Welcome to the latest edition of The AI Pulse for Digital Leaders. A curated collection of essential articles, commentaries, and news stories from reputable sources that bring insight to digital leaders on the principles and practices of delivering AI-at-Scale

Highlights in this edition include:

The challenges of redesigning the AI procurement landscape in local government .

DSIT has developed a tool for responsible AI to guide public sector groups .

The Sudlow Report describes challenges in safe use of health data in the UK

AI for Good

A major report from the Ada Lovelace Institute considers the challenges of redesigning the landscape for the procurement of AI in local government.

The Economist provides a helpful overview of how AI is helping improve climate models to allow more accurate prediction in policy making.

Jeni Tennison, founder of Connected by Data, has published a very useful essay that discusses why we need inclusive data governance in the age of AI.

Google is expanding river flood forecasting to 100+ countries and 700 million people, and providing more data and an API for better flood forecasting.

Bias and Ethics

DSIT has developed a tool for responsible AI to help public sector bodies innovate responsibly with data and AI by setting out a vision for responsible AI and defining guidelines to identify risks.

The UK MOD has issued a policy framework governing the safe and responsible adoption of AI. It outlines how to implement the MOD's AI ethical principles to develop safe, robust, and effective AI-enabled capabilities with appropriate human oversight.

An important essay in Engelsberg Ideas suggests that historically, technology has helped freedom. Now, it could harm it.

Cyber Security

PWC report that organizations are turning to managed services providers (MSPs) to help integrate AI-enabled solutions for around-the-clock monitoring and assist in handling emerging cyber threats.

A report from Georgetown University’s Center for security and emerging technology identifies 3 categories of risks with AI code generation models and discusses their policy and cybersecurity implications.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a framework to ensure secure delivery of AI in critical infrastructure aimed at cloud providers, AI developers, and critical infrastructure operators.

Data & Decision Making

The Sudlow Review, “Uniting the UK’s Health Data: A Huge Opportunity for Society” has been published. It offers a vision for overcoming the barriers and inefficiencies that currently delay the safe and secure use of health data.

Wired is worried that the new Trump administration will exploit America’s digital surveillance technology and describes steps you can take to evade government surveillance .

As American civic life has become increasingly shaped by algorithms, The New Yorker asks why trust in government has plummeted and if there is any turning back.

Simon Taylor asks if digital identity is key to efficient AI as financial company’s “wallet wars” grows.

Innovation & Collaboration

To boost efficiency and reduce data center costs, Arstechnica reports that Amazon is ready to use its own AI chips to reduce its dependence on Nvidia.

Fast Company reports on how OpenAI and rivals are overcoming limitations of current AI models.

McKinsey Quarterly's 60th birthday is celebrated with a review of key moments in business technology history , including the birth of AI.

Productivity & Efficiency

Bloomberg reports that OpenAI, Google and Anthropic are struggling to build more advanced AI with diminishing returns from their investments.

MIT Technology Review reports that Africa’s AI researchers are getting ready for AI to take off on the continent.

CIO magazine asks if the moment for “just-in-time” AI has arrived.

InfoWorld reports that Gen AI is helping API teams complete projects faster, while APIs also are driving the use of AI.

Regulation and Compliance

The European AI Office has just published the first draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice. It will now be discussed with stakeholders.

A Forbes article offers a useful overview of the state of AI regulation, global governance, and the challenges to be addressed.

McKinsey believes it’s time to prepare for the EU AI act and tells you how.

Sustainability

From Australia’s AI Centre, an extensive guide to AI and ESG.

Open Access Government assesses the role of AI in sustainable agriculture.

An IBM Survey shows that 90% of executives see AI boosting sustainability, but warns that adoption is lagging behind.

User Experience

Bain research considers GenAI’s potential to improve customer experience and identifies 5 design principles for deploying GenAI in the customer journey.

Workforce & Skills

Harvard Business School in conjunction with Microsoft and GitHub, has published a very substantial study on GenAI’s impact on work focusing on GitHub Copilot.

ICO, the UK data protection regulator, has issued recommendations for AI in recruitment to improve data protection for job seekers.

According to the Financial Times, recruiters are urging candidates to use AI for CVs to apply for jobs (but not to answer assessments).

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