DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY


them, but when Bluey takes things too far and tells him that they never want to tidy the playroom again, he decides to throw the kids in the wheelie bin. Clearly Daddy Robot understands that the root cause of the playroom’s untidiness is Bluey and Bingo, and therefore takes the only logical step, which is to eliminate it. There are a number of fundamental issues which will


crop up during society’s move towards DT. One of them is ‘data democracy’. We are all familiar with the idea of ‘protected knowledge’. Our colleagues may try to keep information to themselves, believing it makes them indispensable, special, and an expert. Organisations act in a similar manner. It seems unlikely that in a world of AI, protected knowledge will survive. Our current belief that ‘knowledge is power’ is about to be undermined. The organisations that try to ‘own’ data may not survive or thrive. I often ask people how many personal surveillance devices they would tolerate. The immediate ‘without thinking’ answer is none, but within seconds the respondent remembers that data is being collected on them by their mobile phone, credit cards, car, TV, all the ‘Internet of Things’ devices in their home, the public transport system, ticket barriers, car parks, the buildings we enter etc, and of course myriad CCTV cameras.


Parting with considerable personal data We are already parting with a colossal amount of personal data in return for the benefits of convenience, security, etc. However, this is one-way traffic mainly, and in the personal, not the commercial world. In future however, we should be providing and receiving data from suppliers, and sharing data more efficiently with peer organisations. This also means the end of ERIC returns. An immediate defence of commercial confidentiality arises, but ultimately when AI gets hold of these data it will be too late for a discussion about confidentiality. There will be resistance to data sharing for sure; the quote from The Cybermen is an unfortunate one, but ‘resistance is futile’. The GDPR9


and Data Protection Act10 have attempted to


protect data privacy and security, and I’m sure were well intentioned, but I believe we will look back at them in much the same way that we laugh at the idea that a man carrying a red flag should precede us when we drive.


In 2023, I made a presentation to a group of Estates Managers, entitled ‘A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Digital Transformation’. The reference to ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide’ is homage to Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,11


which featured Marvin the Paranoid Android,


who complained that he had a brain the size of the planet, but was deliberately assigned menial tasks such as being responsible for opening and closing lift doors (think back to AI with the intelligence of Einstein, versus human intelligence equivalent to a moth). His book also featured the universe’s best supercomputer, which was asked the question ‘What is the meaning of life?’, and after years of deliberation, came back with the answer ‘42’, which fits the idea that AI doesn’t always produce the answer one expects.


Quantum computer developed by Google In 2019 Sycamore, a quantum computer developed by Google, solved a problem that the most advanced supercomputer would have taken 10,000 years to solve, in only 200 seconds. In June 2023 it was predicted that Microsoft’s quantum computer would overtake regular computers within two years.12


The science fiction of Marvin


will become reality, hopefully with less paranoia, and more appropriate deployment. My survey (mentioned above) had a further three questions, under the heading ‘Where are we going?’ The outcomes are shown in figures 7 to 9. They reflect an optimistic assessment by the Estates Managers with respect to the digital future. The most popular response in terms of the consequences of digital transformation is that it will enable breakdowns to be predicted and pre-empted by maintenance activities. Currently, we rely on maintenance tasks performed at a frequency set out in manufacturers’ or other guidance. The data to support the selected frequencies may not exist, may be outdated, or may reflect a personal stake in service contract business. Artificial intelligence will consign this situation to history. Failure rates and asset status will be known, and failures pre-empted. Four out of ten respondents believed that DT will eliminate adverse patient outcomes related to the built environment, although around half believe that data collection will not be only collected by sensors, cameras, etc, but also by human beings.


March 2025 Health Estate Journal 37


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76