Intelligent technology

In the space of just 20 years, we have gone from the dawn of the internet age to an almost total dependence upon online technology. The personal data of a large section of the population is available through digital means. Social media has opened up entirely new forms of interaction no longer governed by the social mores or legal restraints that would once have moderated behaviour. The main players in this world, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, are seemingly beyond the reach of regulators and legislators. In some ways, that was the aim of internet pioneers – to liberate the individual from the state. But as Matt Hancock, the Culture Secretary, says in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the online world is a bit like the American Wild West before the sheriff arrived.

Many people have no real idea how their personal information is being used. When MPS asked representatives of the data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica if it had used personal data to influence elections here and in America, they denied it. Yet a whistle-blower has allegedly claimed the company used the details of 50 million, mostly American, Facebook profiles to build a system to influence voters. On the other hand, that information was voluntarily placed on Facebook by users. Is it there for anyone to exploit without permission? How, moreover, can we protect children from the pernicious aspects of a communications revolution that for them is not something new but an essential part of their lives?

With uncertainties over the law, the advance of robotics and growing fears about cyber warfare, this is a timely moment for the launch of the Telegraph’s new Technology Intelligence reporting unit to give unrivalled insight into an exciting and rapidly developing world. It can be found at www.telegraph.co.uk/technology.