The current pace of change feels unprecedented, declared John Edwards, Information Commissioner, at its annual online conference attracting around 7,000 people on 14 October. He continued “Thinking back to this time last year, had you heard of [hacking groups] Scattered Spider or ShinyHunters? AI hallucinations, and Agentic AI? 2025 has been a year of new legislation, novel innovations and unique challenges, all of which impact our work.”

Agility has never been more important, Edwards said. “We can’t predict what change comes next, but we can all control how we react and adapt. This means striving to update our skills and knowledge and being able to shift ­priorities or test different approaches.”