Blackwood MP visit

At noon on Wednesday 30 September, Nicola Blackwood MP, Chair of the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, spoke to a first joint meeting of the Politics and Science Societies. She talked about the increasing impact of mobile technology on our lives. Her mobile phone had woken her up that morning, had given her news updates throughout the day and had guided her on her journey to Elstree.

She focused on how consumer data might be useful for the British economy, for example making the NHS and other public services more efficient, but stressed the vital importance of protecting personal privacy and increasing the rights of consumers to know what data corporations possess.

During her presentation Miss Blackwood emphasised the role that technology can play in improving education and human rights around the world, highlighting initiatives such as an anti-corruption app the World Bank have launched in Nigeria.