UK government looks to harness the potential of open data through APIs In a speech earlier this week, Matt Hancock, minister for the Cabinet Office, referred to data as being "no longer just a record" but a "mineable commodity, from which value can be extracted" and outlined how the UK government intends to improve its use of the information at its disposal and help others exploit the data too. " …
The UK government said that "a programme of lunch-time code clubs" could help civil servants become "alive to the transformational power of data"
My very first was as a civil servant, writing code - before I escaped. It was mainly the culture, but fat G who I supposedly worked for was not an inspiration. He had a skin condition, and would peel a complete layer of skin off the back of his flaky hands before eating it.
The civil service reputation for inertia, bureaucracy, incompetence and secrecy is founded in fact. These people couldn't find both their own buttocks at the same time, and if anybody thinks that there's entrepreneurial and tech talent in the ranks of the civil service, they are mistaken. The idea that a few "lunchtime coding clubs" will turn grey-skinned SEOs into algorythm innovating code wizards looks a tad questionable.
They could make great strides just getting them to use spreadsheets properly. Spreadsheets are practically programming.
It's got a nice intuitive interactive GUI, and can also transparently pull its data from a backend datasource. And it prints graphs and pie charts - which are like crack for managers.
Make their bonus proportional to an exam about successfully making a particular graph from publicly available data each month.
"...Matt Hancock, minister for the Cabinet Office, referred to data as being 'no longer just a record' but a 'mineable commodity, from which value can be extracted'..."
My God, did a government employee finally understand something genuinely important about people's data? I think I need a lie down after the shock.
did a government employee finally understand something genuinely important about people's data?
Indeed he did. But he didn't say who would pocket the extracted value. Do you think it will be:
1) You and me?
2) Some shitty offshore outsourcer being paid to do not much?
3) Some big data company that gets our data, and makes a mint for its Yank shareholders whilst paying no UK corporation tax?
My bet is on 3.
I appreciate this could be used for good (in the way that a well-defined care.data scheme, with properly anonymised records, with strict controls on access could have been a huge boon to research and epidemiology), but I think we all know it will end up being profiteering bullshit like the DVLA selling records to dodgy parking companies, or any of the iterations of the care.data the government have tried to push through.
So can we expect more mandatory data-harvesting drives for their shiny new "high-quality data"?
Even if the gov manage to break their run of 100% IT fuckups, I'm pretty sure I don't want my data to be published, mined or readily available.
Sure, it could be used for good; but altruists and people with ethics don't tend to be the ones with the money.
Probably a week of hanging around 4chan will teach them more than any number of "code clubs" will ever do.
Matt Hancock, minister for the Cabinet Office, referred to data as being "no longer just a record" but a "mineable commodity, from which value can be extracted" and outlined how the UK government intends to improve its use of the information at its disposal and help others exploit the data too.
help others exploit the data
help others exploit the data
Who are these 'others' supposed to be, and how will they 'exploit the data'?
And who will pocket the 'value'?
I think that you will find "The provision of services provided by local and national government, whether in-house or under contract, security of the nation and of the local community, the prevention and detection of crime" will do as the data protection purposes.
That should just about enable everything, shouldn't it?
SL: It's not the machine. There's a mismatch on the personnel code numbers... Tuttle should have had L31.06, debited against his account, not Buttle!
Mr. K: Oh my God, a mistake!
SL: Well at least it's not ours.
Mr. K: Isn't it? Whose is it?
SL: Information Retrieval.
Mr. K: Oh, good!
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