Page 6 - Doing Data Together by The Scotsman

DOINGDATATOGETHER PROMOTED CONTENT
David Lee hears about how the University of Edinburgh is helping connect academia, industry and society to use data ethically and effectively
How do we want to use data? Do we want
to utilise it to make financial services more open and accessible to
all? Can we harness it to examine the flaws of our elderly care system, laid bare by Covid-19, and try to make fundamental improvements?
And do we want to ensure that the march of data and artificial intelligence in shaping all aspects of our lives is managed in an ethical way?
In the last year, the University
of Edinburgh’s Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) programme has answered all these questions with an emphatic yes, furthering the Edinburgh city region’s ambition not to be just the Data Capital of Europe, but a world-leading hub.
Professor Jonathan Seckl, vice- principal of the university, is one of the academics behind the 2016 Science and Innovation Audit, which ultimately brought the DDI programme to life.
He says: “We saw in 2016 that data and digital innovation was strong, but thought it could be transformational. We made a bold statement, and outlined the huge economic potential.
“It was a big step but we haven’t regretted it. You cannot understate the importance of the DDI initiative to the university and the wider region – and our clear focus is beginning to bear fruit as we reach into a series of critical sectors.”
Despite the dislocation of a global pandemic, the DDI programme has made very significant progress in the last 12 months. In all cases, partnership working has been crucial.
Last October, Professor Shannon Vallor arrived from Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley as the first Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and AI. She leads the Centre for Technomoral Futures, a ground-breaking collaboration
DATA-DRIVEN INNOVATION
between ethics and technology, which will make its permanent home in the under-construction Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI).
In January, a £20 million partnership to develop the Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC) was announced between Legal & General and the university, with data fundamental to the first holistic UK research programme into elderly care. Three months later, the ACRC’s plans were accelerated as a result of Covid-19.
In June, another £20m-plus funding package was confirmed for the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence (GOFCoE) in Edinburgh.
A further significant collaboration was announced
in July, with Hewlett Packard Enterprise confirmed as the university’s partner in creating the Edinburgh International Data Facility.
The DDI programme’s response to the pandemic was also built on co-operation. A small grant fund of almost £250,000 was established for rapid-response projects which used data to tackle some of the huge range of challenges arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
These are covered in more
detail on pages 9-11, but included collaborations with small
fintechs such as Wiserfunding
and CogniHealth and large tech companies, including Sopra Steria, as well as specific projects with partners like NHS Lothian, Scottish Government, The List magazine and social enterprise Breadshare.
Seckl is energised about all these projects, large and small, within an ever-widening Edinburgh ecosystem of data innovation.
“If used responsibly and carefully, data is transformational,” he
Harnessing the power of partnership
says, “and trust is the first word in everything we try to do.
“The thought leadership we are showing with Shannon Vallor’s appointment as Chair of Data and AI Ethics, is absolutely crucial. Maintaining public trust [in data and AI] is vital.
“We are delivering transformational research,
innovation and support to
society across the board and
to the highest possible ethical standards. Where better to do that than in the care sector, where this atrocious pandemic has swept in and revealed such long-standing problems and inconsistencies?
“Care really is the Cinderella sector and with the ACRC, we have
PARTNERS HELPING TO ACCELERATE THE DRIVE TOWARDS DATA CAPITAL OF EUROPE STATUS
I John Godfrey, corporate affairs director for Legal & General and partner in the Advance Care Research Centre: “We know there isn’t a single answer to make care better – but we’re setting the bar very high and hoping for the emergence of whole new methods of care, based on sustainable healthcare and financial models.
“Data is fundamental; any
changes must be strongly evidence-based. If we don’t know the full picture, at an individual or population level, we cannot decide how to improve things.”
I Nick Thomas, partner
at Baillie Gifford, which created the first Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and AI: “We are convinced that Edinburgh University has a world-class
data science capability.
We also admire its ability
to blur the boundaries of academic disciplines, which will be necessary to make progress in the field of AI ethics.
“Interesting discoveries are often made when
ideas from different fields collide. We aim to be a good partner for the Institute, making a long-term commitment to funding the
Chair and embracing an open exchange of ideas.
“Some of the development and use of AI will be driven by companies in which we invest, so we hope to make constructive connections and work with Professor Vallor to include ethics at the centre of the discussion.”
I Lee Rand, director of high-performance
computing and AI at
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and partner in the Edinburgh International Data Facility: “HPE is proud to embark on this long-term initiative with the University of Edinburgh. In the data- centric era, deriving insights and value from across multiple datasets will be a key to success for business and government alike. We look forward to
boosting the UK’s capacity for data-driven innovation through this initiative.”
I Gavin Littlejohn, global chairman of FDATA and partner in the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence: “It is becoming increasingly clear that
the grand open finance challenges GOFCoE will address simply can’t be solved by working alone.”
6