Data…what are you doing with yours?

Sunday 21st March marks the 24th national decennial census in the United Kingdom.    

This Sunday is a bit different to your average Netflix marathon or Sunday 30km ride with friends, because this Sunday we’re all being encouraged to prioritise the filling out of the national census. It may be the last census we see since, according to the Office of National Statistics, the country’s leading statistician, Prof Sir Ian Diamond, is looking at cheaper and more effective options to replace the 10-year mega questionnaire.  

This got me thinking about the huge amount of data which is being gathered and how powerful that can be for the nation if analysed correctly. It’s no mean feat getting 60 million people to let us know how they use the services in our areas, how many children are in our house and how we travel to work. So, what are they hoping to achieve and how will it help? Well firstly we are seeing the LGBTQ population properly represented for the first time, as well as non-binary people. This is a great step forward in better understanding our population, it’s diversity and our needs. School provision, infrastructure requirements and care services can all be estimated and acted upon more accurately. Conversely our local and national government teams must get together to make this data work, and to make decisions upon the data while it’s still relevant and fresh.   

Just like all big data, the analysis, communication and action is critical, as well as ensuring you take into account potential bias and inequalities which can be acerbated by such data collection. I find it interesting that they are measuring our movement and transport needs in a time when we are all staying at home more than we would normally, so will that lead to data which serves us badly in the future?   

The AI teams at Crayon work each day to help businesses of all sizes solved these big data issues. Where there would previously have been no way to analyse and make changes to nuanced problems, the development of bespoke AI programmes enables just that. It’s an exciting time for our generation as we look to being able to make decisions and automate difficult problems which improve efficiency and remove chance from your outcomes.   

One big change already though is that thankfully the census is online for the first time I can remember and hopefully you have filed the paperwork somewhere nice and safe, and not chucked it in with junk mail since you’ll need the 16 digit code to register and submit it. I’d go check the recycling now just to be sure.   

Reach out to me to discuss how to best put your organisation’s data to work. Or join Crayon’s AI Everyday webinar on Thursday to discover how everyday companies are using data to automate with AI.  

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