Abstract

This discussion will explore how advances in cognitive computing are challenging the traditional logic of devolution, marketisation and privatisation in public services. Friedrich Hayek famously argued that centralised planning was doomed to fail because a bureaucracy could never gather and interpret sufficient information to make sensible decisions but big data and advanced analytics may now challenge this view. To what extent is government harnessing the power of such technologies, and how disruptive are they likely to prove to be to government systems and public services in the years ahead?

Bio Adrian Brown is the Executive Director of the Centre for Public Impact, a not-for-profit foundation funded by the Boston Consulting Group. As a Principal at BCG he has worked with various public sector clients around the world on some of the toughest challenges. He previously worked on transport and health briefs in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (2002-04), acted as a policy adviser to Tony Blair (2004-05), and co-authored the Cabinet Office’s Excellence & Fairness report on public services. Adrian also spent time at the Institute for Government in London (2010-2011) and continues to be a Fellow there.