Doing Data Together: Scotsman Data Conference 2020 video round-up

This year's online conference heard experts discussing the challenges and opportunities presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

Data will play a pivotal role in the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, experts told delegates at this year's Scotsman data conference.

Key themes to emerge from the conference included the omnipresent topic of data ownership, untapped talent in Scotland and using data to improve our digital services.

Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government, took part in one of the many panels throughout the day. He outlined one practical benefit of better data partnership that's already changing lives in Scotland.

Data will have an important role to play in recovering from the pandemic.

"We used to do 300 virtual consultations a week here in Scotland. We now do nearly 50,000 a week."

He told online delegates that 'NHS Near Me' would be unable to achieve that success "without data and digital coming together".

The conference also heard from Dr Sandy Pentland of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the most-cited computational scientists in the world.

"Data is now a primary means of production," he told viewers, "it's like capital, it's like labour."

Like the regulations and institutions managing capital and the labour laws and unions protecting workers, Dr Pentland wants to see a new deal struck around data.

The MIT Connection Science Director said the key was "not to look at data as bad - money is not intrinsically bad - it's how it's used, it's who controls it."

To read more from the speakers at The Scotsman's Data Conference 2020, click here.