Google's AI subsidiary turns to blockchain technology to track UK health data

Forays by Google subsidiary DeepMind Health into the UK's medical institutions have been characterized by two major themes. First, amazing results powered by cutting-edge AI; and second, a lack of transparency over the handling of the UK's public-funded data. With the science going swimmingly, DeepMind Health is focusing more than ever on reassuring UK citizens that their medical records are in safe hands. Its latest plan is a public ledger that shows which bits of data it's using; when; and for what purposes. The initiative is called the "Verifiable Data Audit," and was announced this week in a blogpost written by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and the company's head of security and transparency, Ben Laurie.