Martha Lane Fox, president of the British Chambers of Commerce, has said that just because something can be digitised, “it doesn’t mean it should be.”

In an interview at DTX Europe 2023 at the ExCel in London, Fox said: “there will always be a push to keep making processes more digital, but at the same time, people are beginning to understand what the important elements of human connection are, which may be lost by digitising certain processes wholesale.”

In a digital world, Fox went on to say that the utilisation of technology, if it in fact makes sense for it to be applied, must ensure it is effective for the groups it aims to address.

To illustrate her point about the pitfalls of technology application, Fox shared a case she observed when she worked at a think tank in which a mental healthcare helpline for children used AI chatbots to triage callers.

“Managing the process by applying an AI system did not turn out well,” she said, noting that in this instance, the AI system “failed to effectively triage certain callers in particular need of intervention to human agents.”

Fox also presented the example of end-of-life care, concluding it does not feel like an area in which AI or other digital process could replace the human touch and “levels of reassurance provided to patients with face-to-face interactions.”

During the conversation, Fox also highlighted issues around inequalities in tech access.

“Around 10 million UK adults are not using tech effectively or at all, and socioeconomic factors are generally the main reason for this," she said.

Fox said that while there are plenty of headlines around UK investment in tech and plans for the country to become a global leader, “a well-defined case has not yet been made around achieving an uptick in access to tech for that last 10 per cent".

She explained that this aspect of social justice remains a barrier towards the UK "truly becoming a truly digital nation".

DTX Europe 2023 is taking place at the ExCel centre in London on 4 and 5 October.

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