A report exploring how Guernsey can embrace innovation for its wider benefits has been endorsed by the ODPA.
The INSO report, published this week offers an “honest diagnosis of the island’s current innovation landscape”.
Based on input from more than 45 leaders across multiple sectors and industries, it proposes a “forward-looking view to 2030”.
It explores the challenges Guernsey faces – including governance that faces bottlenecks, and the ongoing ‘brain drain’ – and offers solutions to those recognised barriers, including using Leale’s Yard to prioritise the building of “high-density modern living spaces” while offering “highly skilled employment permits tied to new tech focused roles”.
Speeding up legislation around AI and digital currencies is also suggested as an urgent priority.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has highlighted the links between tech innovation, that is repeatedly highlighted in the INSO report, and data protection – and how the “revolutionary” impact of both can benefit society.
“…as with any innovation, tech advances will only prosper, confer societal benefits and endure, if they are developed in a manner that is safe, secure, and respectful of the rights of those very individuals whose interests and lives they are intended to serve,” warns the Data Protection Commissioner, Brent Homan.
“We protect those rights through regulation, including data protection, which finds itself at the forefront of the digital revolution. And herein lies an erroneous belief held in some corners, that innovation and data protection work against each other.”
Mr Homan is clear that rules around data protection does not impede innovation, and Guernsey cannot allow that to happen here.
“…there remains a minority perspective that data protection holds back innovation – that the only important thing is to innovate fast, get to market, and figure out those silly regulatory details later. To be blunt, that is a recipe for business, technological and societal failure.”
Where innovation is concerned, Mr Homan has endorsed the findings of the INSO report, and says his area of expertise can only aid innovation.
“In today’s digital era we are living in an unprecedented time of progress and promise,” he said.
“That power is transformative, yet precarious if not anchored in strong data protection principles.
“When safeguards lag, innovation falters. When safeguards lead, innovation endures. Privacy is not the enemy of innovation. It is its engine, its seatbelt system, and its competitive edge.
“Organisations that treat data protection as a core product feature rather than a compliance afterthought will win trust, accelerate adoption, and build brands that last.”