11 votes

DeepMind’s move to transfer health unit to Google stirs data fears

4 comments

  1. patience_limited
    Link
    Today's theme seems to be healthcare tech privacy, as in, "there isn't any".

    Today's theme seems to be healthcare tech privacy, as in, "there isn't any".

    4 votes
  2. [3]
    neu
    Link
    This seems like a really common theme that we see from tech companies globally. They make a promise to protect your data and your privacy time and again, but repeatedly get caught doing the exact...

    “They absolutely have to be held to the fact that for two years they’ve made PR statements that promised this wouldn’t happen; that they would never connect people’s health data with Google,” said Julia Powles, a Research Fellow at New York University Law School. “I have consistently made the point . . . that that promise is meaningless without a contractual back-up and now we have proof.”

    This seems like a really common theme that we see from tech companies globally. They make a promise to protect your data and your privacy time and again, but repeatedly get caught doing the exact opposite.

    I haven't heard of this company before, so I wanted to do a little more looking and found this article from The Guardian, and this bit stuck out to me:

    Google says the restructure is necessary to allow DeepMind’s flagship health app, Streams, to scale up globally. The app, which was created to help doctors and nurses monitor patients for AKI, a severe form of kidney injury, has since grown to offer a full digital dashboard for patient records.

    “Our vision is for Streams to now become an AI-powered assistant for nurses and doctors everywhere – combining the best algorithms with intuitive design, all backed up by rigorous evidence,” DeepMind said, announcing the transfer. “The team working within Google, alongside brilliant colleagues from across the organisation, will help make this vision a reality.”

    Is there going to be any regulation for this? I mean, Google is literally wanting to make a global database for people's health and medical records. What are the restrictions for accessing this data? Is Google going to sell that data as well?

    This is exactly why people need to have complete control over their data. I should be able to control everything that is collected about me, who is able to access that data, and who that data can be sold to.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      p2004a
      Link Parent
      Serious question: Could you explain what do you mean by selling data?

      Is Google going to sell that data as well?

      Serious question: Could you explain what do you mean by selling data?

      3 votes
      1. neu
        Link Parent
        It looks like I was mistaken about this. I was confusing this with a decision in the United States that allowed ISPs to collect and sell data about your online browsing habits.

        It looks like I was mistaken about this. I was confusing this with a decision in the United States that allowed ISPs to collect and sell data about your online browsing habits.

        2 votes