Data is the lifeblood of the modern economy - powering decision-making, daily life, and the AI revolution. But governing data is full of trade-offs: openness and trust vs privacy and regulation; cross-border sharing vs sovereignty; and timeliness vs quality.
In this episode of Behind the Numbers, host Ashley Ward is joined by OECD Chief Statistician Steve MacFeely to explore why data governance has become a core policy challenge - and what it means for the future of official statistics and AI.
We follow Steve’s journey from Cork to Geneva to Paris; unpack his thoughts on metadata; and find out where he thinks the international statistical community should double down – or back off – over the coming decade.