In a 72-page report, Tony Blair and Lord Hague have jointly called on the NHS to sell off patient data for AI development.
The report sets out the steps Britain should take in order to lead on the AI revolution which includes a plan for a ‘personal health account’ that shall be cloud-based.
Privacy and civil liberties groups warn that any any suggestion of selling off deeply personal health data en masse should be approached with serious caution.
Stating her concerns with Blair & Hague’s proposal, Madeleine Stone of Big Brother Watch said: ‘Medical privacy is the bedrock of public health, and any suggestion of selling off deeply personal health data en masse should be approached with serious caution.
‘Patients and doctors have already rejected recent Government plans to sell medical records, causing the Government to row back on its plans for a vast NHS data grab.
‘AI could have enormous benefits for healthcare, but without democratic oversight and proper legislative safeguards, it could risk discrimination, privacy invasion, health monitoring and errors on a mass scale.’