Is AI guilty of pre-crime?

This paper, first published in Medium, considers regulation and ethics in relation to AI. It concludes that AI represents a category error in relation to the application of regulation since AI is a broad or general purpose technology which raises widely different issues depending on the context. Further, in relation to ‘decisions’, the paper suggest that an equivalent standard should apply to human and machine based decisions, which arguably should - at least initially - be the existing standard.

Legislating for plurality

Robert Kenny has issued on a short paper on plurality and the issues of regulation.

You can download the paper here.

Market impact assessment of BBC service changes

The BBC proposes to convert BBC Three to an online only-channel and to launch a BBC One +1 channel. These changes are subject to a Public Value Test, administered by the BBC Trust. In support of the BBC's submission to the Trust, Communications Chambers prepared forecasts of the consumption impact of the proposed changes on both the BBC and commercial players, and undertook a preliminary market impact assessment.

Market vs Planning in Spectrum Management

Robin Foster gave this presentation to Ofcom's seminar on spectrum management (2 October 2013). In it he sets the potential for increasing the importance of market mechanisms in spectrum allocation over the next decade.

Mobile as a tool for Digital Inclusion

Robert Kenny and Claire Milne have published a paper (funded by Vodafone) looking at the drivers of Digital Exclusion in the UK, and mobile's relevance as a tool to help people get online.

Several developments in the market, including the the general transition to a 'mobile first' internet and the increasing proportion of those offline who currently have limited interest in getting online, suggest that new tools, and in particular mobile, will be important for addressing Digital Exclusion.