Your round-up of the latest, greatest data stories

Hello ODI Supporter,

Tech giant Meta announced plans this week to launch a cloud business and rent out its excess AI computing power. Under the plans, Meta would allow developers to access its AI models while operating the underlying infrastructure and charge customers based on usage. Meta is expected to top $145 billion on AI infrastructure spending this year. However, commentators have noted this poses an interesting question: if the demand for AI is so high as to justify spending astronomical sums on it, why does a company like Meta have so much spare capacity that it can rent it out? Could it be an attempt to claw back some sort of return on those eye-watering sums it invested in datacentres and AI chips?

The US government has lifted restrictions on Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 versions of the Claude chatbot this week, just a few weeks after they were banned by the administration over national security concerns. The US government had feared the tools could be used by foreign adversaries to mount cyber attacks. Anthropic has pledged to detect and address security risks, work with the US government on protocols and standards for these and future releases, and inform the authorities of any malicious activity. What’s the life lesson we can take away from this when dealing with the Trump administration? Maybe something like…give 5% of your massive AI company to the US government? I wonder if that could help smooth the waters?

US carmaker Ford made a rather embarrassing U-turn this week. The company had well and truly embraced AI and adopted it to boost productivity and cut costs across many areas of its business, including quality checks. However, those plans seem to have backfired as this week news emerged that the company has rehired more than 300 “veteran” quality inspectors. Having deployed 900 AI-powered cameras to detect quality issues, the technology failed to impress. As a result, human quality inspectors have come back to the company to train its AI systems and to mentor young workers. As Charles Poon, Ford’s vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, said: “Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it’s only as good as the information you use to train it.”

Why do finance, healthcare and government keep recreating the same data, over and over? Join us, and the EDM Association, on Tuesday 14 July 15:00 BST to hear from Sir Tim Berners-Lee as we launch a new community of practice putting Solid into action. On Wednesday 29 July, 9:00-10:00 BST, we have the next edition of Solid World, where we’ll explore a Solid application for agentic commerce. And there are still tickets to hear our Executive Chair Prof Sir Nigel Shadbolt cut through some of the critical issues in AI on Thursday 16 July, 16:00-17:00. Finally, on Thursday 30 July 12:00-13:00, we have Rowenna Fielding discussing her data framework for improved data governance. Get your tickets now!

And finally… the voice of Gene Wilder has been resurrected by AI for a new Willy Wonka-themed reality show on Netflix. Although the estate of the actor, who died in 2016, has consented to his reanimation, fans are not so happy, calling it “disrespectful” and “a plastic substitute”. At least WIlly’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow in 2024 might now not be the worst thing that ever happened to the chocolatier.

David and Jo

PS: Our CEO Louise Burke wrote in Accounting and Business this week (published by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) exploring the critical questions around responsibility and liability when things go wrong with AI. Check it out now. 

From the outside world

Meta explores renting unused AI computing power to businesses

Computing

Plan is to monetise unused computing resources.

Meta building cloud business to sell excess AI capacity, Bloomberg News reports

Reuters

Meta Platforms is building a cloud business to sell excess artificial intelligence computing capacity, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, as tech giants seek returns ​on costly AI investments amid worries about overspending.

Anthropic says US lifts export ban on its advanced AI tools

BBC

The US government has lifted an export ban on Anthropic's most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools, just weeks after ordering it to restrict access to them over national security concerns, the company has said.

Anthropic says US has lifted export controls on Fable and Mythos AI models after security fears

The Guardian

AI company was forced last month to suspend access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all foreign nationals.

OpenAI ‘in early talks to give 5% stake to US government’

The Guardian

CEO Sam Altman argued move would share benefits of AI and it would involve other firms doing similar, report says.

Ford rehires human engineers after AI fails to match quality checks

BBC

Ford says it has hired back some human engineers after AI failed to match their skills and experience.

Ford hired AI and sacked humans. It backfired badly

The Independent

‘We didn’t pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers,’ says automaker.

One copy of the truth – Sir Tim Berners-Lee on Solid and the future of enterprise data

Free webinar, Tuesday 14 July 3-4pm BST, book now

Join Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, and John Bruce, co-founder and chief executive of Inrupt, as they discuss what Solid is, why it was developed and why this matters even more now with the rapid pace of AI development.

Voice of Gene Wilder recreated by AI for new Wonka-themed Netflix series

Sky news

The actor, who played the title character in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, died in 2016.

Wonka Netflix show faces backlash for AI-generated Gene Wilder voice

BBC

Netflix says it will use AI to recreate the voice of the late Gene Wilder in a new reality TV series set in the world of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Willy Wonka experience: How did the viral sensation go so wrong?

BBC

It was billed as "the place where chocolate dreams become reality".

Who’s in charge of the AI?

ACCA

Critical questions are arising around responsibility and liability when things go wrong.

From the ODI

In conversation with Sir Nigel Shadbolt

Free webinar, Thursday 16 July 4-5pm BST, book now

Join us for an exclusive event with Sir Nigel Shadbolt, one of the world’s leading authorities on artificial intelligence and open data.

Solid World

Free webinar, Wednesday 29 July, 9-10am BST, book now

With AI moving so fast, there is barely time to take advantage of all the features introduced at Solid.

Data Ethics Professional #14: A smarter way to spot data & AI harms

Free webinar, Thursday 30 July, 12 -1pm BST, book now

Join Rowenna Fielding, privacy, data protection & data ethics geek for hire, as she discusses her data framework for improved data governance.

Data Ethics Professional #15: Can we share confidential health data in the public interest?

Free webinar, Thursday 24 September, 2-3pm BST, book now

This session will explore the long‑standing question of how doctors and nurses approach decisions about sharing confidential patient information in the public interest.

The Week in Data

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