DeepMind. Blockchain. Medical records. Google. AI – wow, we just won machine learning bingo!

Google-stablemate DeepMind is creating a blockchain-like system to show how sensitive medical data passing through its processors will be used, allowing healthcare professionals to check if data has been tampered with. Its healthcare arm, DeepMind Health, is working to improve medical diagnoses with machine learning tools. Large amounts of confidential data are required to develop these tools – something DeepMind hasn't always been trusted to handle. Last year, DeepMind was criticized for gaining access to current and historic patient records for 1.6 million individuals across three London Royal Free NHS Trust hospitals – which extended well beyond the scope of the research they had publicly disclosed. The announcement of Verifiable Data Audit this week is an attempt to gain back some of the lost trust.