Data will change the world, and we must get its governance right

Data, data everywhere – but will it make our lives better, or put us at risk? In recent months it has become clear that while the opportunities presented by ever-growing data are abundant, so too are the threats. That's why we need better governance – a set of guiding principles as to how this new technology is used and developed – not least because misuse threatens to turn the public against such innovations. Data breaches from companies including Uber and Morrisons have made headlines, but the ways in which corporations can use data legally, to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and pinpoint information for their own commercial uses, are less well publicised. Concerns about the possible military uses of AI have grown to the point that over 20,000 researchers have recently signed a letter warning policy makers of the dangers of autonomous weapons that use algorithms to strike specific targets.