Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as AI is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, here’s a handy roundup of the last week’s stories in the world of machine learning, along with notable research and experiments we didn’t cover on their own. In one of the more surprising stories of the past week, Italy’s data protection authority (DPA) blocked OpenAI’s viral AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, citing concerns that the tool breaches the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. The DPA is reportedly opening an investigation into whether OpenAI unlawfully processed people’s data, as well as over the lack of any system to prevent minors from accessing the tech. It’s unclear what the outcome might be; OpenAI has 20 days to respond to the order. But the DPA’s move could have significant implications for companies deploying machine learning models not just in Italy, but anywhere within the European Union. As Natasha notes in her piece about the news, many of OpenAI’s models were trained on data scraped from the internet, including social networks like Twitter and Reddit. Assuming the same is true of ChatGPT, because the company doesn’t appear to have informed people whose data it has repurposed to train the AI, it might well be running afoul of GDPR across the bloc. GDPR is but one of the many potential legal hurdles that AI, particularly generative AI (e.g. text- and art-generating AI like ChatGPT), faces. It’s becoming clearer with each mounting challenge that it’ll take time for the dust to settle. But that’s not scaring away VCs, who continue to pour capital into the tech like there’s no tomorrow. Will those prove to be wise investments, or liabilities? It’s tough to say at present. Rest assured, though, that we’ll report on whatever happens. Here are the other AI headlines of note from the past few days: 72