Jeni Tennison

@jenitennison

Data nerd/wonk. Founder of Connected by Data, campaigning for communities to have a powerful say over data and AI. Into trans rights, neurodiversity, board games, lego, dogs, spreadsheets. www.jenitennison.com

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Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· 3d

Solar eclipse shadows

Shadows of leaves on a wall during a partial solar eclipse. The shadows are multiple arcs, showing the shape of the sun coming through the pinholes of the gaps in the leaves...

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· 15d

So I'm pretty excited by the recognition that traditional consultation doesn't cut it any more, in the Rewiring the State Cabinet Statement. 1/3 www.gov.uk/government/p...

We agreed to replace the current model of consultation by default with new and modern forms of public participation. This includes considering where performative statutory duties to consult can be revoked and how we can more actively bring the public into the policy-making process instead. This recognises that local leaders are better equipped to link public opinion and civil society to policy making.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· 21d

Exhibit C: Because call centre labour is cheap, and voice AI pricey, the token cost of using AI in that context is currently greater than equivalent human labour cost. From www.goldmansachs.com/insights/top...

Falling token costs can expand the AI frontier

As token unit costs continue to decline, AI agents may become increasingly economical relative to human labor, expanding the range of enterprise workflows that firms can automate at an attractive return on investment (ROI). Coding is a compelling example: It is high value, largely text-based, and supported by a mature tooling stack, which allows even token-heavy agentic workflows to remain less expensive than equivalent human labor. Other categories that are operationally harder and more expensive to execute like real-time voice and call center automation are more constrained for now. However, the broader trend is clear: ongoing declines in token costs and, in turn, prices may lower the breakeven point for automation and render more AI use cases economically viable.

A graph shows coding agents costing $13.39/day and humans costing $300/day. For call centre operatives, the AI is $92.90/day and the human is $90/day.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· 23d

Exhibit A: British Gas explains how it's the customers' fault that they're cutting 1,300 call centre staff - people just prefer chat bots! Exhibit B: Trustpilot summary of reviews of British Gas customer service: frustration of being forced into online channels and unable to speak to a person.

But Chris O’Shea, the company’s chief executive, insisted that the changes were being made because customers preferred to take their queries to digital channels rather than people.

“AI isn’t driving these particular job reductions; that’s mainly due to changing customer behaviour,” he said. “What we’re seeing just now is over 90% of our customers actually use digital channels in the first instance, and we’ve seen a 20% reduction in customer calls, so this simply reflects the changing customer behaviour.

“We’ve got to reflect the changes in customer behaviour. We expect to grow more jobs around our digital interface, and maybe having fewer people on the phones.”

Customers consistently note ambiguous experiences with customer service, with many praising the helpfulness, professionalism, and clear communication from agents and engineers, who explained everything and resolved issues quickly. Reviewers appreciated the ease of booking appointments, prompt confirmations, and the availability of out-of-hours support. However, a significant number of consumers expressed frustration with the inability to speak to a person, being redirected to online channels, and a lack of follow-through on promised callbacks. Many also reported issues with conflicting information, unaddressed complaints, and a perceived lack of care or understanding from customer service representatives, leading to prolonged unresolved problems and financial concerns.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jun 22

Even better shot of it in the Guardian

Andy Burnham takes a selfie with the Parliamentary Labour Party, with an i.AI sticker prominently showing on the back of his phone

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Feb 20

I'm astonished this statement could be reported so uncritically. Let's be real: *IF* AGI is ever developed, all its efforts will be spent making OpenAI profitable and sending Musk to Mars. From www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Stuart Russell, a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of California, Berkeley, who closely follows India’s progress, said: “If we get to AGI [artificial general intelligence], AI is going to be producing 80% of the global economy. All manufacturing, most agriculture, all services will be just done; managed by AI, produced by AI.”

Imagine, he said, an Indian village priced out of having a health centre. In the future, AI could design the hospital and “along comes a bunch of giant quad copters carrying the materials, and a bunch of robots come and assemble everything. Two weeks later, you’ve got a hospital.”

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Feb 17

Billboards for the AI Impact Summit are everywhere in New Delhi, but the floral display versions are next level!

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Feb 11

I think it's the default for "Look up & data detectors", see Trackpad preferences here.

screenshot of MacOS Trackpad preferences

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Feb 7

Great to see an analysis of the impact of ambient voice technologies that includes consideration of long term impacts, patient impacts and system-level impacts. The logic model (in the phase 1 report slide deck) is helpful. It would be useful to see something similar in policing/justice.

Diagram of a logic model for AVTs. The overarching theory of change is summarised as: If AVT systems accurately capture and summarise clinical encounters and integrate into EHRs, then clinicians spend less time documenting
and more time with patients. This improves data quality, clinician wellbeing, and productivity. Over time, these translate into improved patient outcomes, better workforce
retention, and system efficiency.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jan 5

Happy return-to-work day! Have a picture of my dog to cheer you up.

A Gordon Setter running towards the camera across frosty grass, looking joyful and goofy.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jan 3

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jan 1

Me too

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Dec 24

Thank you! Also you're giving too much hope about the timings of sunrise: the header here should be *8am* sunrise given time is 07:59...

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Nov 17

Should I routinely publish photos of my dog?

A Gordon Setter is bounding across some grass towards the photographer. His ears are caught mid bounce, so they look like wings. He has a joyful expression and looks like an idiot.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Oct 18

Listening to the recent Ezra Klein podcast on the AI apocalypse, I found this segment astonishing. I had no idea AI psychosis was so common that journalists are receiving *daily* emails from people demonstrating it. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/o...

Snippet of podcast transcript:

I get emails like the call you got, now most days of the week.

Yep.

And they have a very, very particular structure to them, where it’s somebody emailing me and saying: Listen, I am in a heretofore unknown collaboration with a sentient A.I. We have breached the programming. We have come into some new place of human knowledge. We’ve solved quantum mechanics — or theorized it or synthesized it or unified it — and you need to look at these chat transcripts. You need to understand that we’re looking at a new kind of human-computer collaboration. This is an important moment in history. You need to cover this.

Every person I know who does reporting on A.I. and is public about it now gets these emails.

Don’t we all?

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Oct 10

The irony of the clickbait article about the pope's condemnation of clickbait being the most viewed article...

The Guardian Most viewed list of articles is topped by one reading "You won't believe what degrading practice the pope just condemned"

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Oct 3

Important read on digital ID based on experience in India.

Our investigations into Aadhar revealed that once such a system is implemented, it is almost impossible to prevent its proliferation into every interaction between the state and the resident, which turns each failed transaction into a potential criminal breach.

Politicians know that national IDs are hugely unpopular, which is why they invariably start with a scape-goat to sell the system to a sceptical public. These scapegoats offer a glimpse into the insecurities hidden in the national psyche. In India, Aadhar was sold to middle-class India as a technological balm to the widespread perception of corruption.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Sep 16

21yo got some excellent shots of the dog today.

The dog is asleep and his jowls are squished against a pillow.

Photo of a side mirror in which you can see the dog sticking his head out of the back window.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Sep 15

@timbernerslee.bsky.social obviously forgot to wear his t-shirt again

On the left, Tim Berners-Lee is wearing a t-shirt that says "I didn't invent the internet". On the right, Vint Cerf is wearing a t-shirt that says "I did not invent the Web".

On the left, Tim Berners-Lee is wearing a t-shirt that (on the back) says "I invented the web". On the right, Vint Cerf is wearing a t-shirt that (on the back) says "I invented the internet".

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jul 3

I'm sure Palantir creating AI summaries of our complaints will make us all feel so much more heard. (Compare and contrast the community-based efforts of organisations like Maternity Engagement Action: maternityengagement.uk/campaign/see...)

Screenshot:

The problem is that the NHS doesn’t listen
well enough. The most common reasons for
complaints is poor communication.195 We will
update complaints regulations and increase
the use of AI tools to ensure complaints data
is collected - and responded to - far more
quickly. One AI tool is already in development
and being tested on the Federated Data
Platform (FDP) and we will resource further
expansion of this approach in 2025 to 2026.

Screenshot:

AI-led warning system building on the
capabilities in the Federated Data Platform
(FDP). This will mean we are able to analyse
data to identify where quality issues are
emerging in parts of the NHS. Where the
AI system flags a concern, it could trigger a
CQC inspection.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jul 3

Outside of the data and technology parts, the 10 year plan reflects a consumerist version of public voice. The power we're granted is marketised power, to choose the services we use and log our dissatisfaction with them.

Screenshot:

Pushing power out to patients
and the public

The steps outlined in this chapter will push
power from the centre to local systems and
providers. This is a good thing in its own
right: it is providers, not Whitehall, who know
most about local need. However, it is only
an intermediary in this plan’s defining goal:
a patient-controlled NHS, that provides real
choice, real control and real convenience
for patients.

To achieve that, we will introduce a
new Choice Charter. It will be rolled out
progressively across England, starting in the
areas of highest health need. It will have 5
new mechanisms.

First, it will make NHS funding flows increasingly
sensitive to patient voice, choice and feedback.
Patient reported outcomes and experience
data - as well as direct feedback - will be
important determinants in how we appraise
performance and award performance-related
pay. As we outline in chapter 9, we will also
trial new Patient Power Payments, where
patients will be contacted after care and
given a say on whether the full payment for
the costs of their care should be released
to the provider. This will be the start of the

Screenshot:

trajectory of money flowing with patients,
and being responsive to patient voice, over
the course of this Plan.

Second, patients will have new powers
over how they use NHS resources from our
significant expansion of personal health
budgets (PHBs). As we outlined in chapter 2,
we will at least double the number offered
one by 2028 to 2029, and make PHBs a
universal offer for all who would benefit by
2035.

Third, patients will be able to exercise greater
control over their health and care through
the NHS App. As we outline in chapter 3, the
App will revolutionise patients’ interactions
with the NHS. They will be able to get rapid
advice, book appointments instantly, rate
their experience, choose their provider and
schedule appointments - all with maximum
choice.

Screenshot:

Fourth, over time and where safe and
clinically appropriate, more patients will be
able to directly refer themselves to more
diagnostic services, removing often time
consuming and inconvenient processes where
patients are gatekept unnecessarily. In the
future, we expect patients to be able to access
lab testing via their phone (e.g. blood tests);
to use AI to triage (e.g. via the NHS App) or to
directly proceed to tests (also via the NHS App
and where clinically appropriate) with tests
available in the community via community
diagnostic centres and neighbourhood
health centres. A more pre-emptive NHS
App and advances in wearable technology
will, over time, support patients to self-refer
confidently, including directly through the
NHS App (see chapter 3).

Fifth, where patients need elective treatment,
they will have a choice of different providers,
allowing them to choose the provider that
best suits their needs, with information
available on journey times, waiting times,
quality, outcomes and patient experience. We
will facilitate this through the NHS App.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jul 3

It's great to do user research when developing apps, but at a recent workshop we @connectedbydata.org held with @nationalvoices.bsky.social, participants said patients (and staff) need to be involved much earlier and deeper to shape the kinds of technologies that are being created in the first place

Screenshot:

As the Patients Association105 and other
groups have long argued, one of the most
important ways we can maximise the inclusive
potential of digital technology is by cocreating it with patients, especially those
previously excluded by other NHS services
most of all. We will involve patient groups
and patient organisations in the development
and testing of new App functionality from the

outset, harnessing their expertise to ensure
excellent, inclusive user experience.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jul 3

Practically every public dialogue I've seen also includes some strong reservations, particularly about AI adoption in places that involve sensitive data, care, and the potential of job losses. It's unusual (and convenient?!) that the 10 year plan dialogue found the public focused on the positives.

Screenshot:

they readily accept the use of their data for
applications beyond direct care, as long as
strict privacy and security conditions are in
place and met. They want to see it support
the innovations that could, in future, save
lives. We also heard that they would expect
the NHS to derive value from its use. If NHS
data supports a profitable product, the NHS
should share in the proceeds.

Screenshot:

We have spoken to the public around the
country about how they want their data to
be used. We heard their desire for a rigorous
approach to privacy and security, which will
inform our redesign of the opt-out system.
We also heard their surprise at the barriers
we put up to using NHS data that does not
contain any identifying information (e.g.
anonymised aggregate hospital information).
We will reform the legal framework to allow
for health data to be used to improve the NHS
and for research that benefits its patients -
including, through the Health Data Research
Service announced by the Prime Minister in
April 2025.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jul 3

Yes, the conclusion of Chapter 8 - Powering transformation (p. 128) talks about being a "world leader" in clinical trials and public participation, but the kind of 'participation' being talked about is opting in to their data being used in clinical trials, not shaping what research gets done.

Screenshot of the text:

We will support the scale of this aspiration by
getting the basics right. We will be a world
leader in clinical trials and patient involvement
in research. The UK will have a streamlined
regulatory environment, fit to support
entrepreneurs and scientists.

The phrase "and patient involvement in research" is highlighted.

Screenshot:

From 2025, we will make it far easier for
patients to volunteer to participate in clinical
trials by promoting ‘Be Part of Research’

Screenshot:

and integrating it with the NHS App.
Initially, this will allow patients to search the
clinical research database and request to be
contacted. We will enhance the service for
commercial partners to link eligible patients
who have signed up with available studies in
target areas. In time, we will link clinical trial
recruitment to the NHS App and SPR, so that
patients can be proactively notified of clinical
trials that might benefit them.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jun 27

The Devereux Review includes a lot of criticism of ONS's Integrated Data Service. Sounds like that's now going to be shelved, perhaps making way for a National Data Library with similar goals?

IDS has proved the most difficult programme for ONS. It has now delivered some ground-breaking data linkages, while protecting personal information. Building on earlier work, ONS can now, for example, assess the impact of various forms of surgery on patients’ propensity to return to work. However, at present the benefit cost ratio is very low, and IDS has low take-up by Government analysts outside ONS. It is also the case that substantial sums initially ringfenced for IDS have – with the HMT approval – been used to fund more general technology and data costs. And despite the IDS business case originally being in part predicated on the need urgently to replace the Secure Research Service, the two services are now running in parallel.

where programmes are required, it is better for them to co-ordinate related activity across ONS (as ARIES), rather than gather resources into the programme and act largely independently of the rest of ONS (as many people perceive IDS); and to keep governance arrangements and project management proportionate to the task. Given that IDS also relied heavily on securing data from other Departments, several people – in and outside ONS – thought the programme initially adopted a “high handed” approach, essentially demanding data, and downplaying others’ concerns for example around security.

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· May 24

Clearing out the attic and came across this from 13 years ago @johnlsheridan.bsky.social

Photo of the Jeni Tennison (Leaving) Order 2012, created by John Sheridan and colleagues at the National Archives when I left to join ODI

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Feb 25

UK creative industry flexing today!

Newspaper rack at a supermarket. Every paper has the same image covering the whole front page, which says "MAKE IT FAIR". The AI in FAIR is highlighted. Under it, the text says:

The government is looking to change the law to favour big tech platforms so they can use British creative content to power their AI models without our permission or payment. Let's protect the creative industries – it's only fair.

Creative rights in AI coalition - an initiative from the News Media Association

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jan 21

At the launch of the blueprint for a modern digital government!

A paper copy of the blueprint for modern digital government, subtitled A long-term vision for digital public services, a six-point plan for reform, and the role of the new digital centre of government

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Jan 9

On Meta's shift to using Community Notes... Twitter's implementation of CNs was based on @audreyt.org's work, with an algorithm designed to surface "bridge making statements" that were acceptable to people with differing views. moda.gov.tw/en/press/bac...

Interview snippet from Audrey Tang, saying "A very similar idea, after we adopted this in our petition platform and our poll list platform, Twitter, now called X.com, adopted this idea into community notes. So, if you want to look at plurality technology currently reaching the most people, it's probably community notes. So, if you have a tweet, and it's just part of the story, or it's horribly wrong, you sometimes see a note attached to it. But it is contributed by a fellow Twitter user that managed to convince people on both aisles. So, there is an open algorithm that measures the bipartisanship, the bridge making potential of a note, and they only feature those notes as community notes."

Jeni Tennison@jenitennison· Dec 25

Xmas cracker present. Apparently it's a magic trick.