"The current wave of advances in artificial intelligence doesn’t actually bring us intelligence but instead a critical component of intelligence:- prediction."

 It's hard to go a day without hearing the word 'data'. We rely on data on a daily basis in all industries; media, education, technology, retail etc. We are all getting excited about the possibility of what data can do. We know the buzzwords; Analytics, Big Data, Data Visualisation and Data Science! But at the root of these buzzwords is the need for visible, authoritative, consistent data that we can rely on to gain insights to support missions and goals. 

“Do unto the data of others as you would have them do unto yours".

Crime Prevention

Imagine the possibility of preventing a fatal offence. This happens more commonly than the public are aware of, all thanks to technology. One example of crime prevention- in 2015, a teenager in England was taken into care after it was revealed he had been researching gun types and nearby school locations to possibly carry out a school shooting. Authorities were able to intervene as the teenager had been flagged as a vulnerable threat. 

We are currently on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution, and what an exciting time it is! The way we live, work and relate to one another is changing. The 4IR is characterised by a fusion of technologies that are blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. With this new era comes enormous potential for automation and development; enterprises are investing in it, but is the government?

Working within the technology industry there are some buzzwords which come up over and over again, current one being 'Artificial Intelligence'. 

Before Obama's election as President he promised many things to the citizens of America, one being that if elected, his government would;

Bring your data together and listen to its story 

The advent of digital age led to a new data revolution. Data is viewed as a new high worth commodity that can enable organisations to analyse their current operations, optimise their processes and predict their future offerings. Organisations are now realising the true potential of data but struggling to derive meaningful insights from the data. Not just the private sector, even public sector organisations are struggling and under pressure to provide digital services to citizens powered by data. Public sector organisations have a huge amount of data, right from citizens’ personally identifiable information, confidential medical information, financial information, social security information and so much more. Accessing and using this data poses several challenges to the public sector organisations.

What is Data?

Data is one of the most talked about subjects at the moment alongside Big Data, AI and Robots, but what exactly is it? The Oxford dictionary defines it as ‘facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis’.  Every time you enter your details into an application form, social media network or membership subscription, your information is collected. It allows other parties to make more strategic decisions when planning objectives around marketing, hiring, product, finance and engineering. Data has been collected for years however, 90% of current data has been created in the last two years with Forbes suggesting there are 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day at our current pace (roughly 100 million blu-ray discs). So what has this got to do with Open Government Data?

In the Digital Age, the Private sector is investing in some of the best analytic tools to gain deeper insights to make better decisions. When we fail to interpret the data, the consequences can be detrimental.