The Ronald Tress Memorial Lecture: What are the Challenges of Big Data?
Professor Sir Adrian Smith FRS discussed the impact of digital transformation and data science on the world today.
On 10 May 2018, Birkbeck’s School of Business, Economics and Informatics held the annual Ronald Tress Memorial Lecture, to commemorate the life and work of a hugely influential British economist and former Master of Birkbeck. Ronald Tress played a vital role in the development of the post-war Marshall Plan for Western European economic recovery. During his tenure as Master of the College between 1968 and 1977, he established the Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics (EMS) at Birkbeck, then known simply as the Economics Department.
In a special welcome, Birkbeck’s serving Master Professor David Latchman paid tribute to Ronald Tress’ lasting influence on economics at Birkbeck as he introduced this year’s speaker, Professor Sir Adrian Smith FRS, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, noting that the University of London is “tremendously important to Birkbeck and for the advancement of higher education in the UK.”
In addition to his position as Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, Sir Adrian Smith is the Deputy Chair of the UK Statistics Authority and Director-designate of the Alan Turing Institute, the national institute for data science and artificial intelligence, a role which he will take up in autumn this year. Sir Adrian Smith’s lecture, entitled The Challenges of Big Data, provided an engaging overview on the historic rise in computing power, a phenomenon that is changing the world around us, the way that we work, and the development of policy, noting that despite their enormous potential, big data and artificial intelligence pose challenges that will impact society, the economy, and individual lives.
He discussed key areas that will be influenced by big data, including government innovation, healthcare service delivery, infrastructure development, defence, and ethics: “Data science will help us deliver smarter engineering in transportation, while also contributing to our defence, particularly in the context of cybersecurity and fraud detection. Within the medical field, data science will enable us to understand issues such as stroke recovery and give survivors a prediction about their language recovery. However, algorithms and artificial intelligence also pose serious ethical and regulatory problems.”
Other areas of discussion included the future of official statistics and traditional methods of data collection, digitisation of information, and legislation about data, especially as there are interesting cultural and ethical dilemmas to address where big data is concerned: “It does not matter whether these questions are tackled within a law or philosophy department – data awareness cuts across disciplines and it is important to educate the country on the implications of data science in our society.”
Sir Adrian Smith concluded his lecture by praising the efforts of UK universities, government, businesses, and other public institutions in demonstrating commitment to training the next generation of data science leaders through initiatives such as the Institute of Coding, of which Birkbeck is a partner, and the establishment of the Alan Turing Institute, which is dedicated to shaping the public conversation around how data can change the world for the better.
Further Information
- Birkbeck’s Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics
- Professor Sir Adrian Smith appointed to lead The Alan Turing Institute
- Birkbeck’s participation in the Institute of Coding