Research article

Business Information Review

2018, Vol. 35(3) 99–115
How real is the impact of artificial ª The Author(s) 2018
Article reuse guidelines:
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intelligence? The business information DOI: 10.1177/0266382118790150
journals.sagepub.com/home/bir
survey 2018

Denise Carter
DCision Consult, Switzerland

Keywords
Artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, chatbot, cybersecurity, data economy, data governance, data lakes, data quality, data
trusts, data value, digital literacy, ethics, information literacy, intelligent virtual agents, machine learning (ML), robotics

Highlights Introduction
 World economy experiencing fragile growth, but the Welcome to the 2018 Annual BIR Survey, the UK’s longest
uncertainty around Brexit means a more cautious running information survey of the current activities, busi-
and pessimistic UK outlook. ness concerns and imminent trends of information profes-
 Artificial intelligence (AI) and the data economy is sionals working in a wide variety of business sectors. This
one of the UK Government’s four grand challenges year the survey has again supplemented the primary tele-
as set out in its industrial strategy whitepaper (HM phone interviews with an electronic questionnaire. Unfor-
Government, 2017). tunately, this year the electronic survey (e-survey) does
 Information teams see their core deliverables as con- not seem to generate as much interest, so there are a
tent management, training on information-related smaller pool of respondents (51 vs. 87 in 2017); and in
databases, and research and analysis. turn the variety of business sectors is not as broad. How-
 Information teams in banking and financial organi- ever, more open questions were asked in the e-survey and
sations indicate they feel they impact business deci- some very insightful comments were received, which
sions in their organizations more directly than have been included in the results. The e-survey asked
information teams in other sectors. some of the same questions as in 2017, but with some
 AI is rapidly impacting the information profession: variations. This way it is possible start to build up a pic-
AI projects described by information teams range ture over time for some questions. The key themes of this
from pilot to fully-implemented. year’s survey are data and its role in artificial intelligence
 Data quality, and trust and confidence in data, are (AI); how AI is impacting organizations and in particular
concerns for information professionals; survey par- information teams and the services and resources they
ticipants are clear that the ability to ensure data is of provide.
highest quality and integrity is a critical skill for 2017 was a year which saw data, information, the value
information professionals.
of information, fact checking and fake news, data privacy
 Information teams are frequently responsible for train-
and cybersecurity in the news headlines constantly. Early
ing and education on GDPR (General Data Protection
2018 brought the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where a
Regulation) and other data governance legislation.
whistle blower revealed that at least 50 million Facebook
They do assist with some aspects of implementation
profiles were harvested by Cambridge Analytica in a major
and application, but Legal, Risk and Compliance teams
data breach; the company linked to a former advisor to US
have the absolute responsibility in the organization.
President Donald Trump, compiled user data to target
 Information professionals foresee that new technical
and AI solutions will mainly require the enhancement American voters in the US election. Since US President
of current skills, rather than the acquisition of new ones. Trump came into office, the Russian hacking scandal and
 Information professionals see research analysis devel- cybersecurity have been press and television news staples.
oping further to include providing implications and In addition, it would have been hard to escape the
deductions; and this will require more confidence.
 As new technological solutions, such as AI and machine Corresponding author:
learning are introduced then there will be an increased Denise Carter.
importance of digital and information literacy. Email: denise.carter@dcisionconsult.com
100 Business Information Review 35(3)

knowledge that a new European Union (EU) data privacy 2018 e-Survey questions in brief
standard, the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR), was on the horizon and then came into force at Q1. In which country/region do you work? [Repeat].
the end of May 2018. Q2. What industry do you work in? [Repeat].
Almost daily, there is a story in the media concerning Q3. What size is your organization? [Repeat].
the development and adoption of new technologies that Q4. Describe the current business climate for your
have the potential to replace humans. Some AI and associ- organization? [Repeat].
ated technologies create a persistent fear that millions of Q5. Number of permanent employees in your team?
jobs will be lost to robots and that unemployment will rise. [Repeat].
However, there is much contrary opinion, and others are Q6. What staffing solutions do you use to supplement
convinced that these new technologies and developments your people resource? [New].
will lead to the expansion of some jobs and the creation of Q7. Which activities fall under your team’s direct
new ones. It is clear that people will need to learn new skills responsibilities? [New].
to adapt, but the picture is one of positive gains rather than Q8. Has your budget increased, decreased or
losses. Consulting firm McKinsey & Company predicts remained flat in the last 12 months? [Repeat].
that investments in technology, including AI and automa- Q9. Do you agree or disagree that your team’s activ-
tion, could add 20 million to 50 million jobs globally by ities impact organizational business decisions?
2030 (Hernandez, 2018). [Repeat].
The information professional has to adapt to this fast- Q10. How do you think your organizations rate the
paced, ever-changing technological, economic, political resources and services your team offers? [New].
and cultural environment. The results of this year’s survey Q11. How do you think your organization rates the
demonstrate that the information profession is meeting expertise/knowledge your team brings to the
those challenges head-on. organization? [New].
Q12. List three critical data and/or information man-
agement skills for information professionals
Methodology working in business environments currently.
The 2018 survey is based on a quantitative and qualitative [Variation].
e-survey and qualitative primary interviews (telephone). Q13. Do C-level or senior managers use your team’s
The 16-question e-survey was distributed via the Business services? [Repeat].
Information Review social media channels; to information Q14. Relevance and/or importance to your team of
management and knowledge management leaders and data protection, digital delivery, open access,
practitioners; and it was also distributed by the Chartered AI, Internet of Things [Variation].
Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Q15. Two priorities for the next 12 months
to their membership. Fifty-one completed e-surveys were [Variation].
received. Q16. General comments on working as an informa-
Employing the e-survey enables us to ask more general tion professional in a business environment?
demographic questions, to gain a sense of overall business [New].
direction; information team size versus organization size;
budget direction and so on. Using quantitative questions in As in previous years, this report is primarily compiled from
the survey does allow for more granularity and more insight the results of 30-minute telephone interviews with infor-
and lets us compare and contrast a little across different mation managers, all operating at senior levels in organi-
business sectors, for example, legal, financial and zations representing finance, legal, pharmaceutical, science
pharmaceutical. and technical, third sector and consultancy.
The 2018 e-survey looked specifically at what services This year 20 potential interviewees were approached,
and resources are most commonly offered by information and 14 were able to participate. Ninety-three per cent of
teams, and how those services and resources are rated by these were previous contributors. Participants this year
their organization. It also examined whether organizations were wholly based on the UK. The author thanks the parti-
placed value on the various expertise of their information cipants very much for their collaboration, cooperation and
teams, and which expertise they value most. Also continu- trust. As in previous surveys, all participant responses are
ing from the 2017 survey, the skills information profession- anonymous and any comments which may identify them
als value most highly were also explored. The 2018 are not included. The names of the participants are known
e-survey questions below have been annotated to indicate only to the author and not shared. This year interviewees
whether they were repeated from 2017 [Repeat], a variation were asked what were the next items on their agenda for the
of a question asked in 2017 [Variation] or completely new coming 12–18 months, and then more specifically about
for 2018 [New]. AI, and what if any impact that was having on their day-
Carter 101

to-day activities. Questions on data management, data gov- particularly against the euro, should also boost exports,
ernance, data quality followed, as well as questions on skill however, which will offer some support for overall UK
sets and how they might need to adapt with new technolo- GDP growth. Service sector growth should remain modest
gies. As in previous years, the questions were used as a but positive in 2018–2019, while manufacturing retains
general starting point and conversations were allowed to momentum after ending 2017 strongly. However, the con-
develop organically. struction sector has fallen back due to the weakness of
As ever the discussions were frank and open, and both commercial property investment and they predict that is set
the e-survey respondents and interviewees have shared to continue during 2018. London has outperformed other
thoughtful, intelligent, fascinating, helpful and pertinent UK regions for most of the past 20 years, but its growth rate
insights. looks set to fall back to close to the UK average in 2018–
2019. The North and Midlands are benefiting from stronger
manufacturing growth recently.
Fragile growth in the world economy, but The UK government recently sets out its industrial strat-
Brexit means a more cautious UK outlook egy (HM Government, 2017) and announced the four grand
challenges which would underpin this strategy:
Globally there has been a modest pickup
economically 1. AI and the data economy.
According to the latest UN world economic report (UN, Putting UK at the forefront of AI and data
2018), on a global level the past decade has been char- revolution.
acterized by fragile growth, high investor uncertainty 2. Future of mobility.
and periodic spikes in global financial market volatility. World leader in the way people, goods and services
In recent times, the world economy has strengthened. move.
Towards the end of 2016, global economic activity 3. Clean growth.
began to see a modest pickup, which extended into Maximizing the advantages for UK industry from
2017. the global shift to clean growth.
In 2017, global economic growth is estimated to have 4. Ageing society.
reached approximately 3 per cent, the highest growth Harnessing the power of innovation to help meet
rate since 2011. Currently, all major developed econo- the needs of an ageing society.
mies are experiencing a synchronized upturn in growth.
The improvement is widespread, with roughly two-third
of countries worldwide experiencing stronger growth in General stability for survey participants
2017 than in the previous year. Global growth is Thirty-three per cent of e-survey respondents categorized
expected to remain steady at 3 per cent in 2018 and their business as in a period of change and/or repurposing.
2019. The recent pickup in global growth stems predo- Twenty-seven per cent are currently in a stable organiza-
minantly from firmer growth in several developed tion; 22 per cent are in a period of growth and expansion;
economies, although East and South Asia remain the and for the final, 18 per cent of our respondents their
world most dynamic regions. Despite the improved organizations are currently downsizing. It would difficult
short-term outlook, the global economy continues to from the size of the data set to draw any conclusions from
face risks, including changes in trade policy, a sudden this result, but the 2017 survey, with 87 respondents, did
deterioration in global financial conditions and rising have a higher percentage of organizations that were both
geopolitical tensions. changing and repurposing (35 per cent) and downsizing
(26 per cent), so perhaps there is some small indication of
Economic and political uncertainty makes the UK a more stable economic situation in the UK and world-
picture less rosy wide. One telephone interviewee did though caution that
in conversations with analysts recently they have said it
In contrast, PwC (PwC, 2018) reports that UK economic
was a question of when, rather than if, the next recession
growth slowed in 2017 as inflation rose sharply, squeezing
would hit.
household spending power. PwC projects UK growth to
remain modest at around 1.5 per cent in 2018 and 1.6 per
cent in 2019. This is due to continued subdued real con- Education, legal, banking and financial
sumer spending growth and the drag on business invest-
services largest sector contributors to
ment from ongoing economic and political uncertainty
relating to the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. They the 2018 survey
believe, however, that the stronger global and Eurozone Of the 51 people participating in the e-survey, 89 per
economies, and the competitive value of the pound cent of respondents were from the UK. There were no
102 Business Information Review 35(3)

Figure 1. Range of sectors and industries of e-survey respondents.

of 11–25. Team size appears to correlate with organiza-

tion size. Some primary interviewees indicated that their
had been some team reductions in the past year, and one
interviewee in particular attributed that to not paying
enough attention to managing upward in the organiza-
tion. Rather they had focused on demonstrating where
they fit in all parts of the organization. They felt this
had led to the misconception that there were too many
of them because they were so present in multiple areas.
An e-survey respondent also suggested that making con-
nections at a senior level was critical in maintaining
head count, commented:
Figure 2. Respective sizes of organization of e-survey
respondents. Make connections. Our team has been reduced by 50%
headcount because we were not involved in the conversa-
respondents from the US or Canada. Consequently, the tions at a senior leader level. This year I have been making
range of industries covered was not as wide as in 2017 a concentrated effort to show our impact to senior manag-
(see Figure 1). ers, especially when we have stopped activities due to the
The telephone interviewees represent the financial, reduced headcount. It is beginning to filter in that we were
legal, banking, science and technology, pharmaceutical, an information centre, not just a place to store all the
third sector and consulting industries. books.
Most e-survey respondents work in medium to large orga-
nizations of more than 1000, but less than 5000, employees. The e-survey asked about staffing solutions that were
There were no respondents who work in small organizations being used to supplement permanent head count. The
of between 10 and 99 employees (see Figure 2). majority of e-survey respondents (63 per cent) said
they were not using any additional solutions. Offshore
capability was mentioned by 16 per cent of respon-
dents, and further interrogation of results showed that
Team size correlates with organization size
this solution was only being employed by legal and
on the whole financial organizations. Otherwise alternative employ-
Respondents work in a variety of team sizes. Thirty- ment solutions seemed to be used infrequently (see
three per cent of e-survey respondents work in teams Figure 3).
Carter 103

Figure 3. e-Survey results on alternative staffing solutions used as a supplement to permanent staff.

Figure 4. Core services identified by e-survey respondents.

The e-survey also brought up an interesting point regarding This would be particularly important for a lone information
information teams and information professionals within professional, although could also equally apply to a team of
organizations, one respondent commenting: information professionals.

One thing that tends to get missed is that we [our organisation]

work in quite a different way to information professionals in
other sectors. I am the only information professional in my Content management, training, and
team (in the office even) which makes wider professional research and analysis are the key
knowledge of much more vital importance. deliverables for information teams
Content management (79 per cent), training on
This could tie in with another comment from an e-survey
information-related databases and tools (74 per cent) and
respondent who said that:
research and analysis (67 per cent) were indicated as the
Involvement with professional bodies continues to be critical core services provided by the e-survey respondents (see
for raising profile and demonstrating value. Figure 4).
104 Business Information Review 35(3)

Some respondents named other services that they pro- management expertise was rated as the most valued by
vide that were missing from this list, such as website proof- organizations (see Figure 5).
reading and content writing, commercial assessments and The data around whether CEO or equivalent, C-Suite or
due diligence work and copyright compliance. Data gov- equivalent and ‘one level down management’ were hard to
ernance activities do not seem to figure highly as core interpret. What did stand out was that nearly 30 per cent of
services for most information teams, and this was also respondents were unaware if the CEO or equivalent is using
identified in a recent CILIP/SLA survey (CILIP, 2018) of their services. Most e-survey respondents felt some mem-
corporate information services. bers of the C-Suite and managerial level below were using
their services but only a small number felt all these indi-
viduals are customers.
Budgets, as ever, remain flat
As in the 2017 e-survey, the majority of this year e-survey
respondents reported that their budgets have remained flat. Digital delivery and data protection are
The 2016 survey explored the issues that flat budgets bring high on the agenda
when vendors generally deliver double-digit percentage
Digital delivery and data protection, particularly GDPR,
price increases year on year. Vendor issues are not dealt
which was mentioned in some of the comments, were rated
with in much detail in the 2017 or 2018 surveys and it is
as the topics of most critical importance to e-survey respon-
very likely this is a topic that in 2019 will be explored more
dents (see Figure 6).
vigorously. Vendors and pricing were raised as a comment
However, open access, Internet of Things and AI were
by one e-survey respondent:
all rated highly as being ‘of interest’, and AI was seen as
Pricing tools – vendors are reporting use of consultancies and not ‘critical’ but ‘important’. One e-survey respondent
new pricing tools. How do we redress the balance/build commenting:
relationships?
The growing importance of AI, and especially machine learn-
ing and deep learning technologies, requires detailed knowl-
edge and understanding of the data (usually very large
Info teams in banking and financial organizations datasets) being used to fuel these AI applications, and the
algorithms which act on the data they are given. Some com-
indicate they impact business decisions directly panies seem to think it is more cost-effective to outsource
e-Survey respondents were asked again this year how these basic IM competencies than invest in up-skilling their
strongly they agreed or disagreed with the statement that own staff. I’m not convinced this is a sustainable or sensible
‘Business decisions in my organization are better facili- strategy.
tated/supported as a result of my team’s activities’. Bank-
ing and financial organizations were the ones who mostly A similar question of what’s next in the coming 12–18
strongly agreed (although there were a couple of respon- months was also posed to interviewees. Answers were
dents in banking and financial sectors who strongly dis- varied but there was a theme around implementing some
agreed), followed by legal, government (national or local) kind of AI infrastructure. This ranged from talking to
and consumer goods. Overall, 73 per cent did either ‘some- suppliers about possible tools or upgrades, to one team
what agree’, ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with this statement. of early adopters who have just had a major upgrade to
This is encouraging and means that for most teams they multiple new AI tools and resources and were focusing
can see a direct link between their activities and the solely on embedding in these tools for the coming
organizational decisions and strategy. It would be good to months.
find a shift towards more information teams answering For e-survey respondents, this was an open question, and
‘strongly agree’. clearly delivered some very different answers – ‘leaving
e-Survey respondents were also asked how they felt the country’ and ‘getting a new job’ perhaps reflecting
valued by the organization and how they perceived that some more personal rather than business objectives!
their organizations rated the resources and services offered However, some common themes did emerge and were
by their teams. Mirroring the responses to which services also shared by the telephone interviewees.
were most often offered then content procurement was GDPR figured highly. For most, this is a watch and
rated both the most important and most essential service. see situation where they are waiting to learn how the
Research and analysis came second. new legislation may really impact at a general level as
Additionally to questions on services and resources, the well as their own individual business situation. Compli-
e-survey asked about organizations valuing the expertise ance and copyright and licensing issues were also
and knowledge of the information teams. Here, information mentioned.
Carter 105

Figure 5. Knowledge/expertise most highly valued by e-survey respondent’s organizations.

Figure 6. What did e-survey respondents see as critically important in the next 12–18 months?

All the telephone interviewees were asked about their  training on GDPR, making sure people in the
involvement with the implementation of GDPR within their organization know and understand their
organization; and what direct impact the new regulation responsibilities,
had or will have on their services.  ensuring their own mailing lists or any personal
No information team interviewed had been responsible data they keep is now in line with the new regu-
for the implementation of GDPR within their organization; lations and
this had been the responsibility of the legal or risk compli-  training the information teams on GDPR to make
ance or equivalent department. sure they can advise other employees correctly
Where information teams are involved is as follows: and understand their responsibilities.
106 Business Information Review 35(3)

One unintended consequence that one team has made use of the e-survey respondents. However, it was mentioned
tools that were designed to interrogate databases and alert (and in most cases before any direct questions on the
for non-compliance for GDPR can also be used for general topic were made) during all the telephone interviews. It’s
data cleansing and data remediation. clearly an area where everyone sees the potential for
Interviewees also signalled consequences of the intro- change and innovation to happen in the very near future.
duction of GDPR on their services: It must be noted though that all the interviewees were
Potential difficulties in doing background research that acutely conscious of making decisions around where and
involves personal data, but will have to wait for the Infor- when to input these technologies based on careful testing,
mation Commissioners Office use-case studies to really due caution and full assessments and will not be rushed to
understand how this will impact. action by hype and hyperbole.
Organizational cultures were also cited by interviewees
 Some vendors are not sharing user statistics because as reasons for slow or cautious adoption of new technolo-
of GDPR. gies. One spoke of a risk-adverse CEO. Another reluctance
 In respect of those sections of the GDPR that allow by senior management is to spend money, especially on
for local variation, also needed to wait for UK Data new ideas which might fail.
Protection Bill to have clarification on what was ‘Finding the bandwidth’ was one comment on trying to
necessary, for example, scientific research. source new AI solutions. The interviewee’s organization
 In one organization, implementation of GDPR has has asked them to look at finding new technical solutions
drawn IT resource away so that their projects were to delivering some of their services, which might help
moved down in priority, adding a six-month delay. them with resource issues long term, but to find the time
to do this thoroughly would mean finding something to let
Another theme for both e-survey respondents and tele-
go now.
phone interviewees was assessment and implementation
of new technologies, tools and databases. For some, these
were linked to starting to use AI and machine learning
technologies. These areas will be explored in more detail AI can be used as a catch-all, so how should it
later in this article. Implementing and increasing the digital be defined?
delivery of services and resources was a commonly men-
The term AI means many things to many people and a
tioned objective in the next months.
standard definition is not easy to come by; it is also used
Budget issues, funding, lack of resources, having to do
to describe many distinct, but related, technologies such as
more with less time, less money or less staff were also
machine learning, natural language processing, robotics,
unsurprising additions to the list.
chatbots and more. For the purposes of this survey, the
More unique projects that were mentioned during the
telephone interviews included a focus on people practices, following definitions of AI are used, and the single-term
AI as a catch-all, for simplicity.
with one information team asked to look at the area of
The UK government in its industrial strategy whitepaper
corporate social responsibility and how employees of that
(HM Government, 2017) defines AI as:
organization are using their two free ‘volunteer’ days.
Another was increasingly involved in writing, particularly
Technologies with the ability to perform tasks that would oth-
providing web content for the organizations web pages, as
erwise require human intelligence, such as visual perception,
well as proofreading and editing content.
speech recognition, and language translation.
One telephone interviewee was dealing with their orga-
nization’s recent merger and integration with a new com-
The UK House of Lords in their Select Committee Report
pany; upskilling that company with local and EU
on AI (House of Lords, 2018) made one addition to this:
regulations, aligning procurement policies between organi-
zations and moving to a global approach, increasing con-
AI systems today usually have the capacity to learn or adapt to
sistencies in vendor management.
new experiences or stimuli.

As mentioned previously, the UK government has identi-

AI is here! fied ‘AI and the data economy’ as one of its four grand
The survey highlighted very clearly how rapidly AI is challenges (HM Government, 2017). The government
impacting all the different aspects of information describes the data-driven economy as:
management, from searching and retrieval of data and
information to replacing human staff answering A digitally connected economy that realises significant value
frequently-asked-questions. As discussed previously, AI from connected, large-scale data that can be rapidly analysed
was rated as ‘highly interesting’ but not ‘critical’ among by technology and generate insights and innovation.
Carter 107

In an effort to support AI activities, the decision has been will eliminate costs associated with post-treatment compli-
taken to make The Alan Turing Institute, the UK National cations, one of the key drivers of cost in most healthcare
Research Centre for AI. The government also plans to ecosystems across the world.
create an AI council supported by a new government
office for AI which will take a leadership role across all More efficient diagnosis. Repetitive, uncomplicated tasks
sectors. They have identified six priority business sectors such as the analysis of CT scans and certain tests can be
for AI: performed more accurately by AI-enabled systems, reduc-
ing physician error and enabling early diagnosis and inter-
1. cybersecurity, ventions before conditions become critical. For example, in
2. lifescience, cases such as osteoporosis, which costs the UK’s National
3. construction, Health Service approximately £1.5 billion annually (and
4. manufacturing, that excludes the high costs of social care), the detection
5. energy and of vertebral fractures, an early indicator of impending
6. agricultural technology. osteoporosis which is commonly missed by human diag-
nosis, can substantially reduce the cost of this condition to
The government strategy builds on the data gathered for by
health services.
the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelli-
gence which concluded that the UK is in a strong position
Clinical trials optimization and drug development. AI has the
to be among the world leaders in the development of AI
potential to enable faster development of life-saving drugs,
during the 21st century (House of Lords, 2018). They feel
saving billions in costs that can be transferred to health
that the UK already has key elements: leading AI compa-
ecosystems. In clinical trials, AI can optimize drug devel-
nies; a dynamic academic research culture; a vigorous start-
opment using biomarker monitoring platforms, biomarkers
up ecosystem and a constellation of legal, ethical, financial
allow for gene-level identification of diseases, and millions
and linguistic strengths located in close proximity to each
of patient data points, which can be analysed in seconds
other that if managed appropriately could be a great oppor-
from a drop of blood using at-home devices.
tunity for the British economy.
In addition, they feel that AI presents a significant
Empowering the patient. AI has the potential to truly
opportunity to solve complex problems and potentially
empower us as individuals to make better decisions
improve productivity, which the UK would be right to
regarding our health. Vast numbers of people across the
embrace. The Committee recognizes that the last decade
world already use wearable technology to collect every-
of rapid technological advances and the growth in available
day information, from their sleep patterns to their heart
data enable this technology to be deployed far more exten-
rate. Applying machine learning to this data could inform
sively. This brings with it a host of opportunities, but also
people at risk of certain diseases long before that risk
risks and challenges.
becomes critical. Mobile apps are already providing
granular-level patient profile information that could help
people living with specific chronic conditions to better
Healthcare, lifesciences and legal are sectors which manage their disease and live healthier lives. All of this
are already implementing AI solutions can lead to healthier populations and a reduction of the
Healthcare is often cited as having huge potential to benefit overall cost burden.
from AI. A recent World Economic Forum article (World A recent survey by The Pistoia Alliance (Proudlock,
Economic Forum, 2018b) highlights the strong evidence 2018) found that 44 per cent of life science professionals
pointing to a number of ways in which AI can help tame were already using or experimenting with AI and deep
healthcare costs. The article describes some specific learning. Overall, they found that 94 per cent expect and
examples: increase in the use of machine learning within two years,
but access to quality data and technical expertise is a barrier
Guiding treatment choice. As healthcare providers begin to to adoption.
move towards a standardized format for recording patient The legal sector is another area which has seen early
outcomes, large sets of data will become available for anal- adoption of AI solutions. One example is a recent study
ysis by AI-enabled systems that can track outcome patterns released by LawGeex (Futurism, 2018), an AI contract
following treatment and identify optimal treatments based review platform, which demonstrated how their platform
on patients’ profiles. In doing so, AI empowers clinical outperformed lawyers, in both efficiency and accuracy
decision-making and ensures the right interventions and in reviewing non-disclosure agreements and accurately
treatments are customized to each patient, creating a per- spotting risks within the legal documentation. It was
sonalized approach to care. The immediate consequence of also pointed out that, during the experiment, lawyers
this will be a significant improvement in outcomes, which were fully focused on the task, whereas in real life, this
108 Business Information Review 35(3)

task also may have sunk to the bottom of a to-do list, As well as projects undertaken by information teams,
have been rushed through while waiting for a plane, or interviewees also cited examples where their organization
with one eye on the clock to get out the door to pick up is already deploying AI as part of their workflow, such as
children. legal drafting, and legal clause identification tools.
From the industries that dealt with high volumes of data
that require searching and some initial processing before
being ready to be analysed, it was clear that there was much
Information teams are currently running AI projects
more interest in, and activity towards implementing AI
that range from pilot to fully implemented solutions. Where industries are more focused on knowl-
One interviewee was working on a pilot ‘frequently asked edge, where they are not buying extensive amounts of
questions’ app which was available on the customer com- external data, but their services are focused on building
puter terminals in the library. They hadn’t done any spe- knowledge bases and utilizing that then the opportunities
cific marketing, but customers who had come into the for AI are much less.
information department had used the app and been satis-
fied. They felt though that the customers who used this
technology were the customers who already used techni- The chatbot and intelligent virtual agents are the area
cal apps, but those people who wouldn’t use technology where we will likely see the most development in the
and would traditionally ask a person, still wanted to do near future
that and didn’t use the app. So its use didn’t drive a beha-
viour change but it fulfilled its function as a piece of One telephone interviewee felt that chatbots, a computer
technology. program or AI, which can conduct a conversation via audi-
One organization that was interviewed had gone much tory or textual methods, was an area that would see signif-
further down the route of adopting AI technologies and icant expansion. Virtual voice assistants like Apple’s Siri
they were in a period of embedding the new tools into and Amazon’s Alexa are already used widely by people in
systems and processes. They felt there was a huge service their non-work lives were probably the area of AI that
and PR exercise but also opportunity to drive coaching and would see the most development in the near future, and
training, making sure people still knew where to find dif- at this year’s Google I/O developer’s conference, Google
ferent data and how to get it. Everyone in the organization demonstrated a very natural-sounding Google Assistant
is on a learning curve, and they have the full spectrum from making an appointment over the phone – a feature it calls
early adopter to recalcitrant. That interviewee also spoke Google Duplex.
about how they had embedded themselves in the DNA of Telephone interviewees who either dealt directly with
the organization’s information management and had put external customers or high volumes of customer requests
themselves forward at all opportunities where information where there was opportunity for answers to frequently
was going to be a component. So much so that they are now asked questions certainly saw the potential for using greater
routinely asked to participate. They, for instance, were automation in this area.
directly involved in the creation of their companies data
lake (a storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw
data in its native format until it is needed). New technologies raise new questions in vendor
Interestingly talking to another telephone interviewee management relationships
whose company had recently moved to using a data lake Several telephone interviewees raised points about vendors
noted their team had been asked but they didn’t see this as a and AI:
core area of responsibility for their information team, and
they could be better used elsewhere.  Some vendors are rebadging existing databases and
One telephone interviewee mentioned using AI solu- tools with technologies they were already employing
tions to trawl the web for adverse media and monitoring with more current names such as ‘machine-learning’
services. They were using this not as a substitute for, but or ‘natural language processing’ but there is a feel-
rather as an addition and enhancement of, their current ing that much of this is spin, trying to capitalize on
service. Another mentioned currently trialing a specific current trends and resell older tools and databases as
AI tool and comparing it with humans doing the same task. something new.
Their conclusion is that at this moment in time humans are  New technologies mean new entrants and there are a
winning on accuracy and price. The same interviewee also mass of start-ups in this area. Only time will tell on
mentioned that information professionals add value not which make the grade and which don’t. The impli-
only in terms of research and analysis, but also in terms cation is that currently the information professional
of relationship management with clients and they are not is bombarded with an increasing number of new
sure that that can be done by AI even in the long term. vendor proposals.
Carter 109

 Interviewees are looking at new ways to perform in significant and sensitive areas of life and society. To ensure
current and new tasks and this means they do have that our use of AI does not inadvertently prejudice the treat-
to spend time and resources finding and assessing ment of particular groups in society, we call for the Govern-
new vendors and new technologies and this is often ment to incentivise the development of new approaches to the
not easy when their time is already stretched. auditing of datasets used in AI, and to encourage greater diver-
 Pricing was mentioned by more than one person. sity in the training and recruitment of AI specialists.
New technology generally has a high price tag and
most interviewees felt that they needed to wait until There was special concern regarding the ongoing and
the prices for some technology became much lower future access and control of data. Specifically that large
if they would be able to purchase. tech companies, especially in US, but with a global reach,
 Several interviewees felt currently that the price of are accruing huge quantities of data, giving them a massive
one new, and relatively untested, AI solution is advance in development and application of AI over smaller
higher than using an offshoring solution to deliver competitors and public bodies.
the same result. It was noted that government and other public bodies do
have large data sets but there are huge hurdles to overcome,
as in many of these bodies much of their data are often still
in paper form, which would require a significant resource
New AI solutions raise questions about investment to turn it into machine readable data.
data quality, data governance and data The House of Lords report was written prior to GDPR
value coming into force. They note that status quo will be dis-
rupted to some extent by GDPR and the new ePrivacy
Trust and confidence are key
Regulation, which both came into force across the EU from
Trust and the trustworthiness of data, and confidence in 25 May 2018.
results from using data sources, were mentioned by multi-
ple telephone interviewees. With respect to data access, the GDPR’s introduction of a
right to data portability is probably the most significant
How far can we exploit and push the potential of new technol- feature. While subject to some restrictions, in many cases
ogies whilst retaining the trust and confidence of our clients? this will require companies and organisations to provide a
user with their personal data in a structured, commonly
There was consensus from multiple interviewees that orga- used and machine readable form, free of charge. The inten-
nizations need to stay competitive but they also need to tion is that consumers will be able to take their personal
balance new opportunities with due attention to their indus- data from one service and, relatively seamlessly, transfer it
try regulatory frameworks. to another, helping to prevent the ‘lock in’ effect which can
Access to large quantities of data is one of the factors dissuade customers from switching between service
fuelling the current AI boom. In compiling their report providers.
(House of Lords, 2018), the House of Lords Select Com-
mittee collected evidence from multiple stakeholders and A recent report on data management and use, and data
interested parties. One overwhelming conclusion reached governance (British Academy and The Royal Society,
was that the ways in which data are gathered and accessed 2017), outlined the key issues and complexities and ques-
needs to change; so that innovative companies, big and tions regarding data management and use in the near future.
small, as well as academia, have fair and reasonable access The first and primary issue the report identified is around
to data, while citizens and consumers can protect their trust, as it relates to the trustworthiness of data itself, and
privacy and personal agency. trust in the management and use of data as a whole by all
stakeholders. The overarching principle of this particular
To do this means not only using established concepts, such as report was to resist a one-size-fits-all approach to data
open data and data protection legislation, but also the devel-
management, but rather to establish some high-level prin-
opment of new frameworks and mechanisms, such as data
ciples which should guide everyone:
portability and data trusts. Large companies which have con-
trol over vast quantities of data must be prevented from
becoming overly powerful within this landscape. We [the 1. protect individual and collective rights and
committee] call on the Government, with the Competition and interests;
Markets Authority, to review proactively the use and potential 2. ensure that trade-offs affected by data management
monopolisation of data by big technology companies operat- and data use are made transparently, accountably
ing in the UK. Companies and organisations need to improve and inclusively;
the intelligibility of their AI systems. Without this, regulators 3. seek out good practices and learn from failures; and
may need to step in and prohibit the use of opaque technology 4. enhance existing democratic governance.
110 Business Information Review 35(3)

They also advised that a stewardship body needs to be would like to know how their data are used but can’t
created, recommending that the functions of successful find out.
data governance should be to:  There is a public demand for greater accountability
from technology companies. Two-third say govern-
 anticipate, monitor and evaluate and ment should be helping ensure companies treat their
 build practices and set standards. customers, staff and society fairly.
And that any stewardship body should be:

 independent,
 deeply connected to diverse communities, The ability to ensure data is of highest quality and
 expert across and beyond discipline, integrity is a critical deliverable for the information
 tightly coupled to decision processes, professional
 durable and visible, and
 nationally focused but globally relevant. The results of the e-survey and the comments from tele-
phone interviewees make it clear that procurement of
The report noted that it is increasing complex to govern and external insight and intelligence from vendors is a key
manage data. The data lifecycle is no longer clear and deliverable. In addition, that it is essential that the infor-
distinct but interconnected and interdependent with mation teams are able to ensure that as they curate that
open networks of data. The report listed the drivers of information is it is of the highest quality, integrity and
complexity as: provenance and they are not passing on ‘fake news’. This
holds true for both internally generated and externally
1. Data capture and processing is increasingly procured data.
pervasive. One interviewee pointed out that today data often
2. Data collection and use are becoming harder to comes cheap is relatively easy to access, but this means
separate. the quality of that data cannot always be guaranteed; this
3. Non-sensitive data can hold sensitive insights. is where information professionals need to intervene.
4. It is becoming more challenging to know where Another interviewee mentioned that algorithms are freely
data comes from: available to purchase on the Internet, which raises another
a. access to metadata becomes increasingly set of questions about the integrity of algorithms used on
critical, data sets and the resulting output. An additional comment
b. data degradation becomes more of an issue, and was that ‘processing data is not a skill;’ this interviewee
c. knowing which data are poor data becomes felt that open source data could potentially also present a
increasingly difficult. risk as it relies on people’s ability to use the information
A recent report on digital attitudes from Doteveryone effectively.
(2018) explores how the British public thinks and feels
about the Internet technologies shaping our world and
changing our lives. When does ‘data’ have a value?
The conclusions from the report, which chime with
some of the sentiments and reservations of the survey This philosophical question was posed to all telephone
respondents, are as follows: interviewees. The contributions from those parties inter-
viewed for the House of Lords Select Committee made it
 The Internet has had a strongly positive impact on clear that the big data warehousers like Amazon, Google
our lives as individuals, but people are less con- and so on put no intrinsic value on data itself, and the only
vinced it has been beneficial for society as a whole. value is in their proprietary algorithms.
Fifty per cent say it has made life a lot better for Telephone interviewees, not unsurprisingly, had a dif-
people like themselves, and only 12 per cent say it’s ferent view. Their individual responses correlated into
had a very positive impact on society. three perspectives:
 There is a major understanding gap around technol-
ogies. Only one-third of people are aware that data  ‘Any data, raw and processed – when you can make
they have not actively chosen to share has been col- sense of it, [data] has a value; but it’s value increases
lected. A quarter have no idea how Internet compa- as it moves up the chain (data-information-knowl-
nies make their money. edge-wisdom)’.
 People feel disempowered by a lack of transparency  ‘Once metadata has been added’.
in how online products and services operate. Eighty-  ‘When [data] has been contextualised (doesn’t yet
nine per cent want clearer terms and conditions, half have to have a specific value to the organisation)’.
Carter 111

Ethics and regulation are works in progress makers and public and private sector interests to improve
– And perhaps they always need to be so public understanding and to explore solutions for fairer and
safer data-use arising from technological innovation, regu-
lation or changes in public behaviour. The Nuffield Foun-
The giving up of personal data – often a question of conve-
dation (2018) has already pre-empted the proposed
nience versus control.
government centre and has announced a new £5 million
Ada Lovelace Institute to examine profound ethical and
We have to ask not only who owns the data, but who owns
social issues arising from the use of data, algorithms and
the algorithms.
AI and to ensure they are harnessed for social well-being.
These were a couple of the comments made by tele-
The Institute will
phone interviewees discussing the issues around ethics and
regulation for AI and other technologies.
For our interviewees, who work in highly regulated sec-  Convene diverse voices to build a shared under-
standing of the ethical questions raised by the
tors such as banking, law and finance, they had a consistent
application of data, algorithms and AI.
response when asked about potential issues around the use
 Initiate research and build the evidence base on
of data, particularly for AI or machine learning applica-
how these technologies affect society as a whole
tions. They all felt the regulation would be automatically
and different groups within it.
in place because any developments in those areas would be
done within their own current well-regulated environment  Promote and support ethical practices that are
deserving of public trust.
and match those regulations. For some, this did lead them
to question if this may stifle innovation.  The Institute will act as an independent voice,
speaking on behalf of the public interest and soci-
Having clear regulated guidance in place means that
ety, informing thinking of governments, industry,
those working in highly regulated sectors clearly have a
public bodies and civil society organizations, in
low-risk response to questions regarding data misuse or
the UK and internationally.
necessity for additional data regulation. For those working
in less-regulated areas then these new technologies pose a
It will be interesting to see how the two organizations will
higher risk.
work together going forward.
One interviewee felt having external professional bod-
At the time of writing, Google has just released its prom-
ies who have clear ethical guidelines which information
ised AI ethical principles (Pichai, 2018). In their introduc-
professionals could subscribe to, and cite, was very help-
tion to the code, they state that they:
ful. Particularly, for external consultants, and those not
aligned to an organization with a strong ethical position
on data or information governance. Also, perhaps if you recognize that such powerful technology raises equally pow-
sit in an organization as a lone information professional. erful questions about its use. How AI is developed and used
will have a significant impact on society for many years to
CILIP launched their Ethics Review in 2017 and will
come. As a leader in AI, we feel a deep responsibility to get
publish their new Ethical Framework for information pro-
this right. So today, we’re announcing seven principles to
fessionals later in 2018.
guide our work going forward. These are not theoretical con-
cepts; they are concrete standards that will actively govern our
research and product development and will impact our busi-
The ethics around data and data use has been raised ness decisions.
at a national level
The UK government has signalled its intention to invest £9 We acknowledge that this area is dynamic and evolving,
million in a new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and we will approach our work with humility, a commit-
(HM Government, 2017). They anticipated this as a ment to internal and external engagement, and a willing-
world-first advisory body that would review the existing ness to adapt our approach as we learn over time.
governance landscape and advise on how the government They set out the following objectives for AI
on how they can enable and ensure ethical, safe and inno- applications:
vative uses of data (including AI). They have also set out [Google] will assess AI applications in view of the fol-
their further intentions to engage with industry to establish lowing objectives. [Google] believe that AI should:
data trusts to facilitate the easy and secure sharing of data.
However, prior to this announcement, the Nuffield 1. be socially beneficial,
Foundation had announced that as part of a new focus on 2. avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias,
the implications of a data-enabled society to establish an 3. be built and tested for safety,
independent Convention on Data Ethics. They saw this as a 4. be accountable to people,
deliberative body bringing together academics, policy 5. incorporate privacy design principles,
112 Business Information Review 35(3)

6. uphold high standards of scientific excellence, and Technology moves at a far greater speed than laws and
7. be made available for uses that accord with these regulations. The need is for future-flexible frameworks for
principles. governance that allow the benefits of data and technology
to be realized while minimizing harms. This is, of course,
Google also outlines AI applications that they will not much easier to say than to do.
pursue:

 Technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall Necessity for skills enhancement more
harm. Where there is a material risk of harm, we will than acquisition of new skills for
proceed only where we believe that the benefits sub-
stantially outweigh the risks, and we will incorporate
information professionals to meet the
appropriate safety constraints. challenges ahead
 Weapons or other technologies whose principal pur- The e-survey asked respondents to name the top three data
pose or implementation is to cause or directly facil- and/or information management skills that they believe are
itate injury to people. critical for an information professional working in a busi-
 Technologies that gather or use information for sur- ness environment today. The question was open, and
veillance violating internationally accepted norms. clearly, the answers are different and as such not straight-
 Technologies whose purpose contravenes widely forward to categorize. However, it was interesting that gen-
accepted principles of international law and human eral themes emerged for each set of answers, and these do
rights. correspond to the priority order in which e-survey respon-
dents rated the activities and deliverables their teams pro-
vide to their organizations, that is, research and analysis
and content procurement rating at the top.
Regulations need to be flexible to keep up with speed
of technological innovations Skill 1: Here most e-survey respondents cited skills linked to
research and analysis, source selection and knowledge, and
One current example of that was outlined in a recent World searching and database knowledge. Business and commercial
Economic Forum blog (World Economic Forum, 2018a). knowledge was mentioned.
The blog posed the question of whether GDPR will block
blockchain: Skill 2: Skills rated most were around using the data and results
more effectively and creatively to answer questions, such as
Blockchain has existed as a concept since 2008 but it has only data presentation, data visualization, critical data examination,
recently exploded into public consciousness through valua- structuring data and focused information delivery, asking the
tions of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Many technologists right questions. Customer service, building relationships, and
believe that blockchain will be more transformational than the understanding the political environment were also common
internet itself. The global blockchain technology market is themes in this set of answers.
predicted to grow to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars by 2021. But
Skill 3: Data and information management skills such as data-
whilst many people equate blockchain with Bitcoin and cryp-
base knowledge, negotiating contracts, teaching information
tocurrency, they are not the same. ‘Blockchain is a
literacy, information organization were the most frequently
cryptographically-secured transaction record that’s created
mentioned in this set. Horizon scanning, environment scan-
without a central authority’, explains the World Economic
ning, being up-to-date on issues affecting the business or sec-
Forum’s Head of Blockchain, Sheila Warren. Blockchain data
tor environment were mentioned here.
can’t be deleted. So will its applications be illegal? Because
blockchain relies on a distributed ledger system that is decen-
tralized and immutable, it’s intended to be a permanent,
tamper-proof record that sits outside the control of any one Information professionals see research analysis
governing authority. This is what makes it such an attractive developing to also provide implications and
and useful technology. But because data stored on the block- deductions
chain, including personal data, can’t be deleted, there is no
way to exercise the right to erasure that people are granted All the telephone interviewees were asked about any skill
under GDPR. Blockchain is not designed to be GDPR- adaptations or enhancements, or any new skills, they had
compatible. Or rather, GDPR is not blockchain-compatible the already needed to make, or were thinking about
way it is written today. implementing.
Echoing the 2017 survey, one interviewee spoke about
This example highlights the fact that while policy- the need to focus much more on managing up and improve
makers are debating and finalizing regulations and policies, their stakeholder management skills. They described need-
new technologies are emerging that are not on their radar. ing to find ways to demonstrate to management the quality
Carter 113

and usefulness of their strong searching and data presenta- introduced. Witnesses who spoke to The House of Lords
tion skills. The impetus for this was a recent change of Select Committee on AI commented on the critical need to
direct manager who needed to be convinced on their improve data skills and digital understanding and literacy.
strengths and their value. This happens frequently in orga- One witness described data literacy as encompassing how
nizations and is an interesting dilemma, because quite often you harness data, how you visualize it and how you model
the information unit is extremely well-appreciated and it and understanding bias.
well-used by customers but if these are not senior level Digital literacy is one strand of information literacy.
people the value statement is harder to prove. This year CILIP’s Information Literacy Group (2018) have
Many felt that the increased adoption and deployment of published an update their definition of information literacy:
more AI technologies would impact the ‘heavy-lifting’ side
of research, with tools able to shift through vast quantities Information literacy is the ability to think critically and make
of data to deliver data sets that were then ready for further balanced judgments about any information we find and use. It
analysis and to have insight added to them. This means that empowers us as citizens to reach and express informed views
information professionals will in the future be working and to engage fully with society.
higher and higher up the value chain of information. A
decade or so ago saw the shift from information profession- They go on to further describe in a secondary statement
als being simply the data providers to providing decision- that expands on their high level description above:
ready data, but many see this as still evolving further and
skills being acquired to be in the position to seek out impli- Information literacy incorporates a set of skills and abilities
cations and arrive at deductions. One telephone interviewee which everyone needs to undertake information-related tasks;
talked about this development requiring more creativity for instance, how to discover, access, interpret, analyse, man-
and commenting on training needs saying that ‘if you are age, create, communicate, store and share information. But it is
going to ask people to deduce then you need to give them much more than that: it concerns the application of the compe-
tencies, attributes and confidence needed to make the best use of
the confidence to be bolder’.
information and to interpret it judiciously. It incorporates crit-
However, the downside of this is that interviewees felt
ical thinking and awareness, and an understanding of both the
that this would make recruitment much harder because the
ethical and political issues associated with using information.
set of skills you would be looking for is also more refined
and precise and relies on experience as well as learnt skills. Information literacy relates to information in all its forms: not just
One interviewee also talked about the skill set that is print, but also digital content, data, images and the spoken word.
most valued by their clients is the bespoke analysis that
Information literacy is associated and overlaps with other lit-
they do, and the value-add that you add as a trusted partner
eracies, including specifically digital literacy, academic lit-
in the organization.
eracy and media literacy. It is not a stand-alone concept, and
Additionally, another interviewee spoke about speed of is aligned with other areas of knowledge and understanding.
delivery and their ability to be much quicker than clients
even when searching the same tools: ‘We get something Information literacy helps to understand the ethical and legal
done when we say it will be done’. In addition, they talked issues associated with the use of information, including pri-
about the tenacity and persistence of information profes- vacy, data protection, freedom of information, open access/
sionals when interrogating sources, and their willingness open data and intellectual property.
(and expertise) to always dig a little bit further into the data Importantly, information literacy is empowering and is an impor-
to really find the best results. tant contributor to democratic, inclusive, participatory societies;
‘[Information professionals] need to learn to apply as interpreted by UNESCO, it is a universal human right.
skills in different ways’. This was the view of one tele-
phone interviewee who talked about team members who The group additionally go on to describe various con-
were expert searchers and had the ability to build a perfect texts in which information literacy has an impact; Informa-
search string to interrogate particular databases. However, tion Literacy and Everyday life; Information Literacy and
with the advent of new databases, this particular skill was Citizenship; Information Literacy and education; Informa-
redundant and newer databases don’t allow this kind of tion Literacy and Health and Information Literacy and the
interrogation so they need to learn to apply these skills in a workplace:
different way.
In the workplace, information literacy is knowing when and
These new technological advances also increase the how to use information in order to help achieve organisational
aims, and to add value to organisational activities. This applies
importance of digital literacy whatever the scale and location of the workplace, and whether
Several interviewees mentioned the importance of digital the work environment is in the commercial, public or not-for-
and information literacy as these new technologies are profit sector.
114 Business Information Review 35(3)

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Carter 115

World Economic Forum (2018b) Four ways AI can make Author biography
healthcare more efficient and affordable. Available at:
Denise Carter is the managing director of DCision Consult, a
https://medium.com/world-economic-forum/four-ways- competitive intelligence and business analytics service provider
ai-can-make-healthcare-more-efficient-and-affordable- to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. She has
85957e34944f (accessed 18 June 2018). 30 years of experience working in the library and information
management sectors.