Your round-up of the latest, greatest data stories

Hello ODI Supporter,

Just a few weeks ago, DeepSeek was unleashed on the world and the stock market promptly went into meltdown. And now? Well, it’s very much on the naughty step. The South Korean data protection regulator has accused the company of sharing user data with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in China. DeepSeek was removed from app stores last weekend in South Korea, before the country’s data protection regulator said "We confirmed DeepSeek communicating with ByteDance”, adding it is "yet to confirm what data was transferred and to what extent." While South Korea is the first country to formally accuse DeepSeek of illegally sharing users’ data, countries including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Taiwan, and the US have taken steps against the Chinese AI startup, from launching investigations into data privacy to banning government employees from using the app. Meanwhile, the chief executive of data centre manufacturer Schneider Electric, said the emergence of DeepSeek, with its lean AI model and reduced energy demands, will not affect his company’s prospects…although he didn’t specify whether or not that’s because nobody will be able to use it. 

Elon Musk’s so-called ‘department of government efficiency’ is seeking access to the Internal Revenue Service’s data, containing millions of detailed financial records of US taxpayers, businesses and non-profit organisations. Concerns have been raised over the move which would give political appointees access to personal data, which given White House former Chief of Staff John Kelly’s claim that President Trump (allegedly) repeatedly said he’d go after political opponents via the IRS, is understandable. Musk has claimed he’s found ‘crazy things’ in the social security system, including people who are 150 years old…so maybe vampires are collecting Social Security? Data experts have raised eyebrows at such claims, with suggestions that Musk is “misinterpreting or misrepresenting". One wonders if a recent tax return for the President is among the data.  

Google has built a new AI tool to help scientists speed up biomedical research. The ‘co-scientist’ can help researchers identify gaps in their knowledge and propose new avenues for research and ideas that could speed up scientific discoveries. The tool works using several AI models to mimic the scientific process, with one generating ideas, and another reflecting on and reviewing them. Early tests with experts from Stanford University, Imperial College London and Houston Methodist hospital have been promising, with AI reasoning leading to results in a matter of days, having taken the university teams years to reach. 

If you’re heading to the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence’s Annual Conference, we’d love to see you. We’re involved in two sessions: TH20 AI Data Transparency: The Past, the Present, and Beyond on 26th February and W24: Workshop on Datasets and Evaluators of AI Safety on 3rd March. If you’re there, come along and say hello. Also next week, you can join a webinar about the Smart Data Challenge Prize. Finalists in the challenge will benefit from access to a bespoke data sandbox, allowing them to develop a Smart Data prototype using specially commissioned synthetic data from a range of sectors. In next week’s webinar, you’ll be able to talk to the sandbox creators and have any questions answered. It’s on 25th February 14:00-15:00 GMT, so sign up now. 

And finally this week…AI is coming to the rescue of vampires. Maybe. As fans rejoiced at the return of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including Sarah Michelle Gellar returning in the eponymous hero, speculation arose as to whether other original cast members, in particular those immortal vampires, would reprise their roles. Could AI be the secret to the return of Angel and Spike? To be honest, I don’t really understand any of it, I am just a regular human guy.

Until next time. 

David and Jo

From the outside world

DeepSeek 'shared user data' with TikTok owner ByteDance

BBC

South Korea has accused Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of sharing user data with the owner of TikTok in China.

DeepSeek accused of sharing users' data with TikTok's ByteDance in another blow around privacy concerns

Tech Radar

According to South Korea's data regulator, the two Chinese tech firms are "communicating".

DeepSeek will not hit demand for data centres, says kit supplier

Financial Times

Schneider Electric says Chinese release has not changed its growth predictions.

Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS

Washington Post

The unusual request could put sensitive data about millions of American taxpayers in the hands of Trump political appointees.

New York Times: Trump sought tax investigations of political foes

CNN

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly told his onetime White House chief of staff, John Kelly, that he wanted the Internal Revenue Service to investigate his political foes, Kelly told The New York Times.

Musk misreads Social Security data, millions of dead people not getting benefits, experts say

Abc News

Musk has implied 150-year-olds are getting checks but experts say he’s mistaken.

Trump's tax returns reveal president's foreign bank accounts

BBC

Newly released tax returns for former President Donald Trump have shed light on his business losses, complicated tax set-ups and tax payments during his White House years.

Google builds AI ‘co-scientist’ tool to speed up research

Financial Times

Lab assistant powered by artificial intelligence can help generate scientific hypotheses.

The 39th Annual AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence

February 25 – March 4, 2025 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

We are pleased to announce the Thirty-Ninth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-25), which will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from February 25 to March 4, 2025.

Sandbox overview and Q&A

Smart Data Challenge

Finalists in the Smart Data Challenge Prize will benefit from access to a bespoke data sandbox, allowing them to develop a Smart Data prototype using specially commissioned synthetic data from a range of sectors.

Buffy reboot: How to tackle the problem that vampires don’t age but actors do

Independent

Vampires don’t age, but actors do. Could AI solve this issue for the incoming Buffy reboot?

What We Do In The Shadows | Season 2: Lucky Brew’s

Youtube: FX Networks

When you want to drink regular human alcohol with your regular human friends, there’s only one place to go.

From the ODI

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. 

Want to change how you receive these emails?

You can unsubscribe and manage your preferences or unsubscribe from all emails from the ODI.