This month sees the first anniversary of the launch of R² Factory at Portland Place for hundreds of friends and customers. We've told our Rolls-Royce ‘origin story’ many times and been delighted at how many customers want to hear how we embedded a digital mindset in one of the world’s most trusted, safety-critical manufacturers, how we up-skilled over 30,000 people across its global workforce, and how we enabled the business to generate half a billion pounds-worth of value through advanced data analytics.
Six years in the making, R² Factory’s corporate membership programme is now available to help companies succeed where others have failed. Member firms are following in our footsteps to build a thriving data science community within their businesses. We’d love you to join us too. Find out more on the latest 15 minute briefing, or download our brochure to find out how we 'create a safe place to do hard things'.
AI news round-up
"In recent weeks, members of Congress have sounded the alarm over the dangers of AI but no bill has been proposed to protect individuals or stop the development of AI’s most threatening aspects": interesting article on whether the US government is ready for the rise in AI, reported in the Guardian.
An AI customer speech analysis startup, launched by ex-Monzo staff, has raised £2m. Cordless, founded in 2020, is an AI platform which analyses spoken word feedback from customer support phone calls. Full story in UK Tech News.
“I think it is the beginning of a paradigm shift... I think this technology is very suitable for the legal industry”: a fascinating law-firm use case for generative AI, reported in Wired UK.
In culture, Spain’s National Library last week announced that researchers using AI had been able to identify the author of a previously anonymous play as the work of prolific 17th century dramatist and priest Lope de Vega. The project called Etso digitally transcribed 1,300 plays and used NLP to compare the works with other previously digitised works.
R² Factory community events
We have several exciting events happening in the upcoming month, focusing on two critical areas for the tech sector: digital skills and dark data. We are delighted at the response to our dark data industry expert group – if you would like to join, please contact Stephen for details.
Dark Data: Using AI & machine learning to uncover the value hiding in plain sight
Tuesday 21 March 16:00 GMT
Join us for a virtual briefing on uncovering “dark data”, the obscure information hiding within everyday processes and transactions. This webinar will look at the scale of the challenge, and use real-life examples of businesses using AI and machine learning technologies to unlock the value hidden within.
Roundtable Dinner
Wednesday 22 March 18:00 GMT
Exclusive dinner hosted at Portland Place in London with special guest speakers. Request to attend in the link below.
Third Thursday Social
Thursday 23 March 17:30 GMT
Join our March special edition as we open our doors on the fourth Thursday instead of the third to accommodate those affected by the train strikes. We'd be delighted if you could join us at our home on Portland Place. We kindly ask you to register your attendance below.
Virtual Roundtable: The gap in Data Science Talent
Wednesday 29 March 16:00 GMT
Exclusive virtual roundtable for senior leaders to discuss the gap in data science talent, why it exists and what industrial corporations can do to bridge it. Request to attend below.
Policy digest
UK publishes a new Science and Technology Framework
The UK’s new Science and Technology Framework is the first major piece of work published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and shows a high-level commitment to strengthening the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower. The framework is backed by £370 million in new government funding of which £250 will flow into AI, quantum technologies, engineering biology, telecommunications, and semiconductors.
US Chamber of Commerce urges Congress to regulate AI
The Commission on AI Competitiveness, Inclusion, and Innovation released a report strongly urging Congress to act on AI regulation by deploying a “risk-based” approach to ensure that emerging technologies are developed in an ethical and responsible manner.
UK’s National Audit Office reviews value in digital transformation
The NAO has released its value-for-money report on digital transformation in government, addressing barriers and the performance of the Central Digital and Data Office. The report finds that in creating CDDO, the government created a stronger central function for digital transformation. It assesses the CDDO’s way of working with departments largely successful, which is based on a realistic and problem-oriented understanding of key needs and issues.
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