Finally, summer is here! It’s the solstice, temperatures are rising, and what could be more refreshing than…bacon flavoured ice cream! And no, you don’t have to shell out almost £300 at The Fat Duck to try it. You can get it at McDonald’s. Or, at least you can, but not for long…news emerged this week that the fast food franchise is removing AI-powered ordering technology from drive-through restaurants in the US after misinterpreted orders resulted in bacon-topped ice cream and hundreds of dollars’ worth of chicken nuggets being randomly added to orders. The technology, developed by IBM, uses voice recognition to process orders and has caused controversy from its introduction, with concerns that it could make jobs obsolete. But it seems that replacing workers is not as simple as the company hoped. I am literally loving it.
The Post Office has referred itself to the data watchdog after the personal details of 555 people involved in suing the organisation were accidentally published. The names and addresses of hundreds of post operators, who were part of a 2019 high court lawsuit against the Post Office, were posted on its website. The lawsuit paved the way for post office operators to have their convictions for theft and false accounting quashed.
Chipmaker Nvidia (no, not the McDonald’s kind) became the world’s most valuable company this week, overtaking Microsoft just days after it had overtaken former second place Apple. The company has been valued at $3.34 trillion, with profits surging amid the tech industry’s shift towards AI. While best known for making video game chips, its products have become the backbone of AI technology.
And while we’re on the topic of AI – let’s face, when aren’t we these days? – our latest blog this week looks at Croissant, a new standard for machine learning datasets. While the AI data ecosystem is growing, little is known about the governance of this data. But getting the data governance right enables the ethical, effective development and deployment of AI systems. Read the blog and find out more. Elsewhere, our Global Head of Policy wrote in Computer Weekly this week about the role of AI in elections happening in 2024, including the UK, US, EU and India. Read the article and find out more.
And finally, the latest episode of Data Dive is available for your listening pleasure. In this episode, Allen Kim from Microsoft, Udit Paul from Ookla and Kanika Joshi from the ODI join host Emma Thwaites to explore how researchers and innovators use private company data to develop new ideas and create impact. You can catch up on all the episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest releases.
Until next time…
David and the Comms team
PS: Breaking News! Digital Hustings on Digital Rights Protection. We are thrilled to announce a special digital hustings event happening this Tuesday, 24 June. Join us for an insightful discussion with Viscount Jonathan Camrose, Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE and Cllr Jack Lenox.
They will be addressing the crucial question: "How will the next government protect your digital rights?" Book now for the webinar, or watch the stream on YouTube.
