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February Newsletter

Well January seemed to fly by. With 2026 well underway, and no letup in the geopolitical shocks, perhaps it is time for some distraction with all things Data Science and AI…

Welcome to Real World Data Science, a new project from the Royal Statistical Society, in partnership with the American Statistical Association. We bridge the gap between rigorous analysis and real time relevance, meeting the pace and complexity of today’s data driven world with the RSS’s trademark steadying presence.

Latest content

Colorado’s AI Law Pause: What It Means for People Working in Data Science

Colorado’s decision to delay and potentially rewrite its first-in-the-nation Artificial Intelligence Act, alongside President Trump’s recent executive order discouraging…

Dr. Stefani Langehennig, University of Denver Daniels College of Business
Feb 2, 2026

Beyond Quantification: Interview with Professor Sylvie Delacroix on Navigating Uncertainty with AI

Professor Sylvie Delacroix discusses why AI systems must move beyond quantification to support professional judgment in high-stakes contexts.

Annie Flynn
Jan 29, 2026

Why Data Quality Is the New Competitive Edge For Data Scientists

Data scientists were in high demand when they were set apart as coding wizards who could wrangle insights from large amounts of data. In the age of AI, everyone can code and…

Jan 27, 2026
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Is data science a new and exciting set of skills, necessary for analyzing 21st century data? Or is it (as some have claimed) a rebranding of statistics, which has carefully developed time-honored methods for data analysis over the past century? In this article, we use two popular data science algorithms to examine the difference between data science, statistics, and other occupations.

Jonathan Auerbach, David Kepplinger, and Nicholas Rios ask, ‘What is data science?’

Read their analysis

The Pulse

Colorado’s AI Law Pause: What It Means for People Working in Data Science

Colorado’s decision to delay and potentially rewrite its first-in-the-nation Artificial Intelligence Act, alongside President Trump’s recent executive order discouraging…

Dr. Stefani Langehennig, University of Denver Daniels College of Business
Feb 2, 2026

RWDS Big Questions: What Are the Key Challenges Facing Data Scientists Today?

For the first video in our new series, experienced data scientists reflect on the technical, organisational, and personal challenges shaping modern data science.

Annie Flynn
Jan 21, 2026

An image of the front cover of AI in Business Towards the Autonomous Enterprise

Book Review: AI in Business: Towards the Autonomous Enterprise by Sarah Burnett

An excellent read for an organisational leader seeking inspiration to automate

Aug 4, 2025
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Applied Insights

Why 95% Of AI Projects Fail and How to Change the Odds

Drawing on two decades of work building AI systems for medicine discovery, Lee Clewley argues that the success of AI models rests on three principles.

Lee Clewley
Jan 12, 2026

Deploying LLMs for Nonprofits: 10 Lessons from Knowbot

The Mike Hudson Foundation has developed an LLM-powered ‘answer engine’ for non-profits. Our recent conversation with them surfaced some valuable insights for practitioners…

Annie Flynn
Dec 17, 2025

​Testing Multi-Agent Systems in the LLM Age: A Practical Guide for Data Scientists

A structured approach for testing Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) and some key questions to start you thinking critically about how your systems may be working.

Peter Capsalis
Dec 12, 2025
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Generative AI is based on neural networks, which are so-called ‘black boxes’. This makes it difficult or impossible to explain the inner workings of the model which has potential implications if in the future you are challenged to justify decisioning or guidance based on the model.

Excerpt from the UK government’s framework for the use of generative AI

Read our key takeaways

Foundations & Frontiers

Beyond Quantification: Interview with Professor Sylvie Delacroix on Navigating Uncertainty with AI

Professor Sylvie Delacroix discusses why AI systems must move beyond quantification to support professional judgment in high-stakes contexts.

Annie Flynn
Jan 29, 2026

Why Data Quality Is the New Competitive Edge For Data Scientists

Data scientists were in high demand when they were set apart as coding wizards who could wrangle insights from large amounts of data. In the age of AI, everyone can code and…

Jan 27, 2026

Keeping the Science in Data Science

Data science is a blend of both data and science. A data scientist with too much focus on data may do work with little impact while a data scientist with too much focus on…

Willis Jensen, Fatemeh Torabi, Monnie McGee, Isabel Sassoon
Dec 4, 2025
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People & Paths

Screengrab of video showing Jonathan Gillard and Penny Holborn in conversation.

Data science and AI in the public sector: An interview with ONS’s Penny Holborn

Penny Holborn, head of faculty for the Office for National Statistics Data Science Campus, talks to Jonathan Gillard about keeping up with new developments, the value of…

Jonathan Gillard
Mar 27, 2024

Screengrab of video interview showing Matthew Jones on the left and Jonathan Gillard on the right. Screengrab is overlaid on a laptop background.

Data science and AI in financial services: An interview with Nationwide’s Matthew Jones

Matthew Jones, head of decision science and analytical innovation at building society Nationwide, talks career path, data science tools and skills, and the role of AI in…

Jonathan Gillard
Mar 21, 2024

Photo of Niclas Thomas.

‘I fell in love with math, really, and fell into data science because of that’

A passion for solving mathematical problems led Niclas Thomas to a PhD in machine learning and then a career in data science in the retail sphere. Now head of data science…

Brian Tarran
Oct 4, 2023
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