Gambling with Our Data: Black Box Bellagio

I spent last weekend at Nesta’s Future Fest. Every year it continues to blow my mind. Bringing together thousands of people interested in an alternative reality, as Nesta says “looking for a different story” one that is desirable, plausible and able to connect past, present and future”. I strongly believe that people’s beliefs about their ability to shape or control their destiny strongly depicts whether or not they thrive or just survive. This year we looked at the fragility of nature, the brokenness of politics, sex, race, gender in robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what I’d like to touch on in this blog, the challenges of data sovereignty.

I found an empty space at the blackjack table within the darkened ‘Black Box Bellagio’. This transforms what we know as a casino, into something unusual. “Take a seat at one of our playing tables and place your bets at Social Strip Poker (not sure the stripping actually happened, thank the good Lord), Best-Bet Blackjack, or maybe Risky Roulette”. Instead of money, your personal data becomes currency. “Play with the (un)fairness of expected values and chances, predicted risks, and giving up your identity” states the house. This and recent articles I have been reading on big data have led me to reflect on my concerns about data handling.

The data industry is one which has massively exploded in recent times. You will hear people talking about ‘big data’ being used to improve systems, improve customer experience and have better tailored services and products for clients. Overall it is a near-essential for any company in this day and age. The collection and use of all this data is what will be driving AI and machine learning. Indeed, even 'The Economist' agrees in a recent article about AI that “the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.”

I was watching a TED talk yesterday. Dina Katabi talked through how vital signs can now be monitored by wireless signals. Data on breathing, heartbeat, sleep and even impending cardiac arrest and other chronic diseases can be collected, analysed and provided to an individual or health care professional without the needs for probes, censors or intrusive data collection methods.

In my line of work, what would data look like for the safety of young people? How does it fit into the notion of a smart city where data from multiple sources and agencies is layered and mapped to give a more detailed reflection of “the whole picture”? Gathering and sharing the latest and most accurate information on cities and where trouble occurs exposes recognisable ‘trends’ in incidents that can be better prepared for and faster responded to. SafeStats’ recent work around ‘hotblocking’ is case in point: a crime mapping method showing where the risk of violent street crime is highest. Making optimal use of shared data from Ambulance services and A&E departments the Met police were provided with clarity about where and when particular police activities should be targeted so as to maximise efforts to cut violent crime. The Children’s Society, working with a number of partners, is exploring how this might work to link up victims, perpetrators and common ‘hotspots’ of exploitation, thereby enabling disruption of common exploitation and trafficking networks.

Data quality will also become increasingly important. There will always be, and increasingly so as we walk into the future, a need for roles which ensure data quality – people who possess the skills and assets to collect, clean, consolidate, store and analyse the data. This is the only way we can truly ensure that we as humans, and our AI counterparts, are making educated decisions.

When it comes to data, privacy is understandably a major concern. How do we as members of the public understand how our data is being used and handled and how will it be regulated. I guess the first test is GDPR (if you don’t know what this is after the thousands of e-mails you have received on the 24^th May 2018, then you need to do something drastic like go to specsavers). This will be an early indicator of how companies are able to comply with this legislation and no doubt demonstrate how effective legislation is or can be with tackling non-compliance. If anything, it has given people like me a huge opportunity to clean up existing personal data.

It is a common fact that Facebook uses algorithms to track our behaviour. But what these algorithms do, or when they are around, is commonly unknown. Still, we are being held responsible for our own knowledge. In this imposed state of insecurity, all our options seem to be untrustworthy. What is good and what is evil?

The Economist, in its report, makes the point that the current outlook is “likely to be between utopia and disaster”. Doesn’t fill me with much hope, or doom either. I believe that as the likes of companies like DigiMe and ArchiveSocial which help to unlock the power of your data, grow, we will be able to build new rules which are featured around the individual as the central decision point for sharing and protection. True data sovereignty. Many of these issues I have highlighted can be tackled if we decide to address them immediately and with significant legislation and frameworks to provide boundaries within which to work and operate safely.

As for my stakes at the Black Box Bellagio? Let’s just say I lost my ability to maintain data sovereignty when I lost to the house. The impending result being I had to ‘like’ a facebook page randomly selected by the Croupier. I wasn’t as unlucky as getting Britain First or some kind of neo-nazi group page as some people did, but I did have to like Gary John, Flat earth conspirator. Perhaps someone Nesta could engage with for next year’s Future Fest? *pops note onto suggestion wall

Tech Me Up: harnessing tech to help young people

Growing up in South Africa, poverty and unemployment were the norm. Young people dropped out of school to join gangs; violence and drug addiction were part of a lot of the daily routine in many communities, many young people were exploited, abused and neglected - just as in millions of communities around the world where the future seems dim.

Working in the children and family arena for many years in Britain, and helping some of the most disadvantaged families and young people, I have realised that although the location may differ, these young people, too, have plenty to block out.

For at-risk young people experiencing multiple challenges in their lives, there can also be huge gaps in the support they receive. Services may be unable to identify the different issues or engage effectively across them. Reductions in public spending mean fewer services are available with rising thresholds to access support. Opportunities are missed for earlier intervention for the most vulnerable young people. This leads to problems escalating and lasting negative outcomes that have a devastating effect on young people as well as a detrimental and costly impact on wider society.

But with the advent of social media, I observed an alternative addition of youth – their obsession with technology. A double-edged sword. It has opened pathways for, and opportunities to grow networks and connections. It has provided a gateway to quicker, easier and more diverse sharing of experience, information and knowledge. At the same time, it has opened the door for exploitation, bullying, a very transient and disingenuous sense of “friendship”, and an overload of information/communication that can actually compound the sense of isolation some young people feel.

My curiosity about this led me to wonder how we can harness the hope and stickiness of technology to help young people overcome challenges in their lives.

Tackling social problems requires a plethora of services and resources that many low-income communities don’t or can’t access. And technology is no silver bullet. Yet, as improbably as it sounds, its beginning to build bridges for young people from despair to hope. In my time on the tech scene, I’ve seen at least three ways that technology is breaking social stigmas caused by poverty and helping and empowering young people to see themselves as part of the solution to challenges facing their communities.

Accessibility

Many vulnerable young people are full of potential but can face huge barriers to thriving where they are exposed to risks, live in challenging environments, and experience adversity. Yet too often, seeking help can be perceived as a weakness or debility – so many young people avoid it, even if it’s free and on their doorstep. We’ve seen an increase of accessible text based, online counselling services and apps, for instance. This offers young people a way to anonymously reach out to counsellors and therapists located in different places. This tech can also enable the professionals involved, to connect conversations behind the scenes to track progress and see trends in behaviour. The stigma of accessing counselling also decreases as more young people access these services.

Accessing advice and information is also becoming easier as tech like chatbots take flight, enabling young people to access specifically tailored information and advice at any time of day, which replicates the human interactions without the associated costs. Ally is a prime example of this, a chatbot connecting young people to relevant and tailored information about housing, benefits and employment. Next step will be connecting it to voice assistants.

Connectivity

Just as technology can build connections between young people and the help they need, it can also connect them to helping others. Job shortages in a community don’t imply a shortage of work that needs to be done. A great example where technology has inspired young people to help others is by web-based platforms where young people area able to share their skills and expertise with others via volunteering opportunities – while being connected with local job or work experience opportunities to allow them to build profiles and experience that recruiters can access.

Upskilling

Just as technology coupled with the right content in the hands of young people can be exceptionally beneficial, so too, for the people working with these young people. ‘EdTech’ like e-learning platforms, can enable a much wider scale of upskilling across shorter periods of time. Traditional face-to-face training models are often expensive, arduous and time consuming, so blended models  of delivery (online and offline) seem to be a lot more popular these days. These platforms allow many people to be trained to better support and work with young people, from better understanding how to spot the signs of many of the challenges they might be facing (like the Children’s Society’s Seen and Heard e-learning platform which helps health professionals better spot the signs of sexual abuse and exploitation) to tools which they themselves can use with young people during one-to-one or groups sessions (like Mind Moose, a web platform aimed at building resilience in young people).

These are all interesting and creative ways in which tech can be used to better support young people with multiple vulnerabilities.