The NHS represents the “world’s biggest opportunity” for saving lives through modern technology, according to the health secretary. Matt Hancock outlined his vision to create a technology-driven NHS and vowed to overhaul its “clunky” IT systems, describing them as “the world’s most frustrating place to work”.
Hancock, appointed to the role in July, announced an additional £200 million for NHS trusts to create digital testbeds ahead of a major speech at NHS Expo in Manchester. He expressed confidence that the NHS could become the most advanced health system globally by embracing innovative technology and artificial intelligence. “We are increasing the NHS budget by £20 billion by 2023 to 2024 to safeguard the NHS for the long term,” he stated. “But money alone is not enough. We need to maximise the value of that money. The NHS, therefore, stands as the world’s most significant opportunity for saving lives through modern technology while being the most frustrating place to work for its IT systems. The power of genomics coupled with AI to utilise the NHS’s data to save lives is unmatched globally. Yet our hospitals operate dozens of systems that do not communicate with each other. GPs, social care, pharmacies, and community care are also on different systems.”
Meanwhile, British Airways has reported an investigation into the theft of customer data from its website and mobile app. The airline admitted that personal and financial information of customers making bookings had been compromised, with approximately 380,000 transactions affected. However, the stolen data did not include travel or passport details. “The breach has been resolved and our website is operating normally,” BA stated. “We have informed the police and relevant authorities. We are deeply sorry for the disruption caused by this criminal activity. We take the protection of our customers’ data very seriously.”
In another development, Facebook has announced the establishment of its first data centre in Asia, choosing Singapore as the location. The social media giant plans to invest more than $1 billion in the new server hub, which is anticipated to open within four years. The 170,000 sq m data centre will support hundreds of local jobs and will be powered entirely by renewable energy.
Additionally, Argos has introduced a new voice shopping service with Google Home, enabling customers to reserve products at local Argos stores through the smart speaker. Argos is the first UK retailer to offer a shopping service via the Google Home platform. Chief executive John Rogers acknowledged the launch as merely “step one” and did not anticipate it would “double our sales.” However, he expressed optimism that people would utilise and experiment with the service, emphasizing the potential for a seamless process that could attract users.
Finally, Twitter has permanently banned conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from its platform. The social media company suspended Jones’s accounts and his “Infowars” show due to abusive behaviour. This follows similar actions by other tech companies, including YouTube and Facebook, last month, citing hate speech violations. While Twitter did not specify the exact breaches, it indicated that its action was prompted by “new reports of tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behaviour policy, in addition to the accounts’ past violations.”
These recent developments highlight the evolving landscape of technology and its profound impact across various sectors, from healthcare innovation to data security and social media regulation.