Google's DeepMind developing blockchain-like tech to track health data

DeepMind, the Google-owned artificial intelligence company, is developing a new technology similar to blockchain for secure tracking of patient health data. In a blog post, London-based DeepMind said its new Verifiable Data Audit project could be the first steps toward a "a service that could give mathematical assurance about what is happening with each individual piece of personal data, without possibility of falsification or omission." The aim is to enable hospitals, and eventually patients, to gain real-time insight into where and how data is being used. "For example, an organization holding health data can't simply decide to start carrying out research on patient records being used to provide care, or repurpose a research dataset for some other unapproved use," according to DeepMind. "It's not just where the data is stored, it's what's being done with it that counts. We want to make that verifiable and auditable, in real-time, for the first time."