Afternoon.

It’s Tuesday 6th October: the government has decided how medical AI should be regulated, Ofcom is investigating a new Instagram feature and Sainsbury’s nearly joined forces with Morrisons.

Kettle on.

📅 On this day: In 1927, The Jazz Singer premiered in New York. It was largely silent, but its synchronised songs and snippets of dialogue helped kick-start Hollywood’s switch to films with sound.

The government has accepted all 44 recommendations from an independent commission looking at how artificial intelligence should be regulated in healthcare.

AI is already being used in the NHS for things such as spotting strokes and skin cancers. The problem is that some AI systems can change after they are introduced, making the traditional approach of approving a medical device once before use less suitable.

The new framework moves towards monitoring AI throughout its working life. Patients should get clearer information about when AI is being used in their care, while regulators will pay more attention to whether systems work safely for different groups of people.

Not all of this happens immediately. The medicines regulator, the MHRA, will start producing new guidance this year, with a fuller implementation roadmap due by spring 2027. The NHS is keen to use more AI. It would also quite like the rules to keep up with it.

Ofcom has opened an investigation into whether Meta properly assessed the risks of a new Instagram feature before launching it.

Instagram Instants, introduced in May, lets people send photos and videos that disappear and cannot be screenshotted. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, platforms have to assess the risk of illegal content and harm to children before making significant changes to their services.

Ofcom is investigating whether Meta did that adequately. Meta says it carried out the required assessments and briefed the regulator before launch. An investigation does not mean Meta has broken the law. But if Ofcom eventually finds serious failures, it can fine companies up to £18m or 10% of their qualifying worldwide revenue.

Sainsbury’s held preliminary merger talks with Morrisons about creating a supermarket group capable of getting closer to Tesco.

The talks took place between November and February but ended without a deal. Together, the supermarkets would have controlled roughly 23.6% of Britain’s grocery market, compared with Tesco’s 27.8%.

Any future attempt would face a substantial regulatory hurdle. The competition watchdog blocked Sainsbury’s proposed takeover of Asda in 2019 because it concluded the deal would reduce competition and lead to higher prices. So your Nectar and Morrisons More cards can remain in separate bits of the wallet for now.

The Conservatives are proposing to spend £10bn over ten years on a new system for defending Britain against missiles and drones.

The plan, called Britannia Shield, would include upgraded radar, command systems and interceptor missiles. The party initially compared it with Israel’s Iron Dome, although Kemi Badenoch has since stressed that Britain would not simply be building a copy.

Israel’s system is designed largely to intercept shorter-range threats over a much smaller country. Britain faces different threats across a considerably larger area. For now, Britannia Shield is a Conservative proposal rather than government policy.

Oil prices have fallen back as fears about global supplies ease, helped by stronger exports from the Middle East and the release of emergency reserves. 

The G7 and other countries are releasing 100 million barrels of diesel and other fuel reserves over four months to steady energy markets. Oil prices have eased from their recent highs, although they remain above $100 a barrel.

That does not mean forecourt prices fall immediately, but cheaper wholesale oil should eventually feed through if the drop lasts.

Rates of several cancers are rising among younger adults in England. The World Cancer Research Fund found significant increases in seven cancers among under-50s between 2001 and 2023. Bowel cancer, for example, rose from 3.9 cases per 100,000 people to 8.4.

Cancer is still predominantly a disease of older people, and researchers do not yet know exactly what is driving the increase among younger adults. Possible factors include obesity, diet, alcohol and physical inactivity, while better detection may explain some of the rise.

A new UK study will follow 250,000 people aged 18 to 50 to investigate why bowel cancer in particular is becoming more common at younger ages.

Rare colour footage of the first regular Battle of Hastings reenactment has turned up after 60 years. The film was shot in 1966, when Hastings marked 900 years since Harold and William settled their differences in the traditional manner. Its success helped turn the reenactment into an annual event, which still takes place at Battle Abbey.

The footage survived among around 300 reels belonging to filmmaker Alan Wootton and has now been restored by his son. English Heritage notes that it also captures a rather relaxed 1960s attitude towards health and safety. 

It is now trying to find people who took part so they can return as guests at this weekend’s reenactment. Presumably this time they’ll be asked to stand a sensible distance from the horses.

Have a great day.

See you tomorrow.

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