Top 10 information management stories of 2020
Summary
And, for light relief, just as pet ownership increased during the pandemic, readers found solace in stories about companion animals and data, and about digital art in the age of Covid. This blogpost on the latest push to put data analytics in the driving seat of a transformation of the UK civil service pondered its peculiarity. In a move indicating a tightening of grip by 10 Downing Street, Boris Johnson announced that responsibility for government use of data had transferred from the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to the Cabinet Office. Governments have to use more complicated measures of success than commercial organisations, something illustrated by a system that will visualise usage of Estonia’s state portal, which provides information and a gateway to public services in the country. It uses blockchain technology to create a permanent bond, says its CEO Rob Anders, between a creator and their artefact, and artificial intelligence to personalise digital art for consumers of it – just as Spotify does for music and Netflix does for film.