The latest edition of PULSE, our monthly newsletter on algorithms and governance, is now available — bringing together the developments shaping data-driven policy across the UK, Europe, and the wider world.
This month’s issue tracks a decisive global shift toward evidence-based AI governance, digital sovereignty, responsible deployment, and international collaboration on emerging technologies. It was a busy month for policy, and the roundup captures the breadth of it.
In the UK, London Tech Week saw billions of pounds committed to AI investment and thousands of new jobs, reinforcing the government’s ambition to lead on artificial intelligence. Alongside this came the launch of the AI Economics Institute to assess AI’s labour market impacts, a new consortium to develop AI assurance standards, and the Advisory AI Growth Lab to help legal services adopt AI responsibly. The government also confirmed Sir Ian Cheshire as the new Chair of Ofcom, proposed a ban on social media access for under-16s, opened a consultation on data intermediaries, and set out its Digital Standards Strategy 2026–2030. UKRI added two new AI research labs in Oxford and London, while the EvEx project — launched at the Royal Society — aims to connect government and universities to strengthen evidence use in policymaking.
Across the Channel, the EU advanced its Tech Sovereignty Package and proposed Cloud and AI Development Act to expand European computing capacity and reduce dependence on foreign technology, while the European Commission’s State of the Digital Decade 2026 took stock of Member States’ progress toward the bloc’s digital targets. Internationally, the UK deepened digital and AI partnerships with Indonesia, the White House announced new actions to accelerate frontier AI innovation and national security, and the Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies issued a joint call for stronger secure-by-design practices. Canada also launched the next phase of its National AI Strategy, with fresh investment in adoption, governance, and commercialisation.
On the research front, the issue highlights the OECD’s Digital Government Outlook 2026 and its report on AI and Skills, the World Bank’s Cloud and Data Center Regulation Rapid Assessment Tool, the World Economic Forum’s AI Playbook for Financial Services, and new research from Anthropic on AI evaluation methods alongside its Public Record survey on public attitudes to AI. The UK parliamentary report Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government rounds out a strong month for governance thinking.
Closer to home, we reflect on our May Fireside Chat with Prof Masaru Yarime on digital innovation and the sustainability transition amid global competition, and share news that applications for the DSA Cambridge Fellowship 2027 open this July — a prestigious 12-month programme cultivating leaders equipped to govern technology responsibly. We’re also inviting institutions to express interest in hosting a future Data for Policy conference.
As ever, the edition rounds up the newest Data & Policy articles from Cambridge University Press — spanning AI provisioning in high-stakes contexts, blockchain adoption in emerging markets, feminist participatory methods for gender statistics, and market-based mechanisms for governing AI liability — plus blogs, reports, events, and funding opportunities from across the data and policy landscape.
To read the full May 2026 newsletter, click here.
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