Privacy-Preserving Technologies in DataDigitalization, Law, and Regulation
Abstract
As investment in artificial intelligence (AI) grows, so too do debates about how to enable the secondary use of patient data to train AI models. Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) such as synthetic data, federated learning, and Secure Data Environments (SDEs) have been put forward as technical solutions to facilitate this process, typically through the anonymisation of data. However, this article argues that there is misplaced emphasis on the value of PETs for anonymisation, overlooking the ‘complexities and guises’ of anonymising data for developing medical AI. Instead, PETs serve a more valuable role in health data sharing for medical AI within the scope of data protection laws by acting as risk-mitigating measures in the legitimate interest balancing test and serving as safeguards for research-related processing. This article discusses PETs in the context of the UK in light of recent changes to data protection laws and investment in new health data sharing infrastructures.
The results indicate that software engineering work practices are chosen opportunistically, adapted and configured to provide value under the constrains imposed by the startup context.
Nicolò Paternoster, Carmine Giardino, M. Unterkalmsteiner et al.· Information and Software Tec...· 394 citations· ⚡54
This state-of-practice investigation was performed using a literature review followed by a multiple-case study approach and presents how inconsistency between managerial strategies and execution can lead to failure by means of a behavioral framework.
Carmine Giardino, Xiaofeng Wang, P. Abrahamsson· International Conference on...· 175 citations· ⚡19
This study conducts a case survey study based on the secondary data of the major pivots happened in 49 software startups, and demonstrates that customer need pivot is the most common among all pivot types.
Sohaib Shahid Bajwa, Xiaofeng Wang, Anh Nguyen-Duc et al.· Empirical Software Engineeri...· 127 citations· ⚡15
It is found that roles of MVPs in startups were not fully aware by entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs should consider a systematic approach to fully explore the value of MVP, as a multiple facet product (MFP).
Anh Nguyen-Duc, P. Abrahamsson· International Conference on...· 93 citations· ⚡9
It is found that what perceived as biggest challenges by software startups do vary across different life cycle stages, even though its significance decreases when the learning focuses of the startups move from problem to solution and their products mature.
Xiaofeng Wang, Henry Edison, Sohaib Shahid Bajwa et al.· International Conference on...· 62 citations· ⚡6
A comprehensive overview of how enhanced sampling methods are reshaping the field, with a particular focus on the data-driven construction of collective variables, is provided.
Kai Zhu, Enrico Trizio, Jintu Zhang et al.· Chemical Reviews· 58 citations
Related blog posts
MIT News · Artificial Intelligence· news.mit.eduOct 7, 2026
Students in MIT’s Concourse program delve deeply into the human condition, debate challenging questions, and learn to develop judgment about issues that can’t be quantified.
Training AI agents with reinforcement learning can be challenging because their tools, context, and decision-making are managed by complex frameworks. Agent Lightning connects existing agents to RL training, making it easier to improve them without rebuilding them. The post Agent Lightning v1.0: A 3,500-Line Lightweight Agentic RL Framework for Training Agents with Real Harnesses appeared first on Microsoft Research.
MIT News · Artificial Intelligence· news.mit.eduOct 6, 2026