Hello ODI Supporter,
Almost 400 US datasets have been deleted or altered since President Trump took office for the second time, it’s been revealed. Health data is most affected, comprising around 40% of deleted or altered data collections, followed by education data. In total, at least 28 datasets have been deleted completely, and 338 data collections have been modified. According to dataindex.us, this is because the data findings do not align with the administration’s priorities. The most significant change to datasets is that they no longer collect information on queer or trans people. At least four datasets are no longer collecting any health data at all, including a surveillance system that enables doctors and public health researchers to spot near real-time emerging drug overdose trends. Data policy experts identified the deletions or alterations through research, crowdsourcing from media reports, monitoring social media, and from government employees. Denice Ross, a co-founder of dataindex.us and former US chief data scientist under the Biden administration, said the list is by no means complete, and most likely undercounts how many deletions or alterations have actually been made.
Failed US low-cost airline Spirit is taking to the skies again. Sort of. Spirit had been in fine, well, spirits, until the pandemic clipped its wings and it was permanently grounded earlier this year. Now, Google has acquired its data for $10 million. And what does that $10 million get you? 100 million emails, 500 million items from Microsoft Teams, 17 million OneDrive files, 20.5 million items from SharePoint, and 30 million recorded customer service calls and 15 million customer service chats. Plus, an awful lot of flight info, crew pairings, fuel slips, and spare-part purchases. But why? Well, you can probably guess. And if you can’t, the answer is AI. Google has said it bought the data to improve its AI services, and this rather unique collection of data is valuable because it’s not readily available on the internet. Or in second-hand bookshops. Some AI experts now believe smaller models trained on specific subjects could be more useful than the large language models we’ve seen so far, and this could be behind Google’s move, which could create AI models focused on aviation based on decades' worth of data. In the data haul, the company will not get access to personal data, such as the 97.5 million passenger profiles or 50.2 million records kept in Spirit’s loyalty programme. And the data has been “rigorously scrubbed” of any personally identifiable information. Chocks away!
The Open UK Awards 2026 are now open for nomination, recognising UK leadership and global collaboration. We’re delighted to sponsor the open data category, and there are many other categories besides, spanning software, hardware and AI. The awards take place at the House of Commons on 5th November, and nominations close at midnight on 6th September. So get nominating!
Join us on Tuesday 15 September, 16:00-17:00 for Solid World, where the team will present their new support programme designed to help social impact projects build with Solid. On Thursday 24 September, 14:00-15:00, we’ll explore the long‑standing question of how doctors and nurses approach decisions about sharing confidential patient information in the public interest. And if you’re interested in becoming a Data Ethics Professional, the next course starts on Tuesday 15 September, so book your place now!
And finally… courtesy of The Guardian, we have a new taxonomy to give full voice to tech’s daily indignities. From “Schrödinger’s wifi” (the train wifi that simultaneously does and doesn’t work) to hostageware (buy a £500 console, then pay monthly for the privilege to use it), we finally have the words. We just wish we didn’t need them.
Until next time.
David and Alex
PS: Our friends at LEASE have launched a new tool to help leaseholders check their lease length and estimate extension costs. We produced an analysis of the lease data, highlighting regional differences around the country and which areas are most in need of lease extensions. Check it out.
