We’ve all been there. You get added to a family message group, there are loads of messages flying around, what time to get there, what time the spuds need peeling, and then Nan chimes in and tells you what time she’s bombing Yemen. No? Me neither.
Your round-up of the latest, greatest data stories
Hello ODI Supporter,
We’ve all been there. You get added to a family message group, there are loads of messages flying around, what time to get there, what time the spuds need peeling, and then Nan chimes in and tells you what time she’s bombing Yemen. No? Me neither. But that’s kinda what happened to Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, who this week published an article detailing how he was included in a Signal group including US national security chiefs, who then texted him war plans. Now, I’m not going to go into all the details of that - Goldberg gave his own account of it to the BBC - but Der Spiegel has revealed that the private contact details, mobile numbers and passwords of some of those top US officials have been found on the internet, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. So thanks to those pesky freeloading Europeans, the upper echelons of the US security apparatus now have two enormous security breaches on their hands rather than just the one. The information was obtained from hacked data dumps online and through commercial data searches, with WhatsApp accounts linked to Gabbard’s and Waltz’s phone numbers apparently showing that messages sent by Der Spiegel were delivered this week. By Thursday, an independent advocacy group, American Oversight, had filed a motion in Washington DC to force the Trump administration to “immediately halt any further destruction of critically important federal records regarding the administration’s use of Signal to discuss military planning”.
Elsewhere this week, DNA testing firm 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, and its chief executive/co-founder stepped down in an attempt to find a buyer for the beleaguered company. While the firm says any sale will not change how it manages or protects customer data, it also states that its policy can be changed at any time. California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a warning that health and life insurance companies could be interested in this data, and urged users to delete their data and their accounts. Outlets have now started publishing instructions for concerned users so that they can delete their data, resulting in computer systems at 23and Me struggling to cope with increased traffic and the sheer number of customers trying to protect their genetic, health, and ancestry details.
Our Executive Chair and Co-founder Sir Nigel Shadbolt wrote in Computer Weekly of the need for the government to get its data AI-ready in order to realise its ambitions. Data infrastructure can enable the successful implementation of the industrial strategy, which will drive growth across all sectors of the economy, but there’s work to do. Part of this will no doubt be the National Data Library, and we’ve got a great event coming up where you can contribute your perspective on how Britain can lead the world in building this essential digital infrastructure for the AI age. Shaping the National Data Library: key considerations for the AI age takes place on 10 April 11:00-12:00 GMT, so sign up for your free tickets now.
And finally…a pair of studies by OpenAI and the MIT Media Lab have revealed that heavy users of ChatGPT tend to feel lonelier, are more dependent on the chatbot and have fewer IRL social relationships. People who engaged in more emotionally expressive conversations tended to feel lonelier. However, it wasn’t clear from the survey if this is caused by the chatbot, or if it was a result of lonelier people seeking emotional bonds. However, the findings echo previous research that suggest chatbots mirror emotional sentiment in messages, meaning happier messages lead to happier responses. AI friend?
PS: One of our colleagues is conducting research at King’s College London about the use of the ODI’s Data Ethics Canvas. If you have used the canvas and would like to take part in the research, email production@theodi.org.
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
When Jeffrey Goldberg published a bombshell story outlining how some of the most senior US officials had mistakenly shared sensitive information with him, he obtained the biggest scoop of the year. The Atlantic editor also became the prime target for every senior Trump administration official in Washington.
Donald Trump's most important security advisers used Signal to discuss an imminent military strike. Now, reporting by DER SPIEGEL has found that the contact data of some of those officials, including mobile phone numbers, is freely accessible on the internet.
A federal judge ordered White House officials involved in a group chat on military strikes in Yemen to preserve the messages after a bombshell report revealed that they potentially shared classified information.
Many 23andMe customers signed up to the genetic testing service in hopes of learning fun or interesting information about their past. But consumer advocates are now urging those users to request the deletion of their accounts and data from the site, to prevent their genetic information from ending up in unexpected hands.
The computer systems of 23andMe have been struggling to cope with the sheer volume of customers racing to delete their data, after the DNA-testing company announced that it was filing for bankruptcy protection.
In an era where data is more abundant than ever before, the challenge is not just in collecting it but ensuring that it is of high quality, reliable, and usable.
Free webinar, Wednesday 23 Apr 2025 16:00 BST, book now
Join Dr Saiph Savage, Assistant Professor at Northeastern University in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, as she discusses how AI can be used to make working conditions better for workers.
Free webinar, Wednesday 30 Apr 2025 16:00 BST, book now
Join Washington Technology Solution’s Cathi Greenwood, the state of Washington’s Open Data Program Manager, for her presentation on the importance of data ethics in organisations.
The Week in Data
The Week in Data is our weekly round up of the latest news in data. If you haven't already, you can subscribe here.
