THE DATA DROP:  April 2025

Hub Updates 

Greeting friends and colleagues.

Please join the DataGovHub for Webinar 51 on the relationship between data value and trade. Our guest will be Dr. Kean Birch of York University, who has written extensively on how companies assess the value of data and other related topics. The webinar will be Tuesday, May 27 at 10:00AM EST.

This month Aaronson published a paper examining how the USG asked for and responded to public concerns about open source AI–its benefits and risks.  Aaronson also published a paper on AI nationalism and beggar thy neighbor trade policies, which she presented on 4.29 at Global Affairs Canada and at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on 5.2.

Aaronson was quoted by Fox on the implications of tariff unpredictability.

Summer 2025 Employment Opportunity for George Washington University Students

Join GWU Digital Humanities Institute to scale up its current open-source and open-access AI platform for higher education. We seek to employ a generative AI and web development research assistant. See the full job ad here. 

Gentle reminder

Most of us today use chatbots, but you may not be aware that you can tell a chat-bot not to use your data for training.  For example,  for ChatGPT, you can do this by going to the settings, clicking on data controls, and turning off the toggle labeled “improve the model for everyone.” Many other chatbots have similar op out settings which they never tell you about. Chat-GPT also memorizes past chats, and you can set it to stop that, although some argue the chatbot still remembers. Be careful. 

The Hub relies on our colleagues for feedback and support. We are  a 401c3 organization funded by government, foundation, and individual funds. If you like our work, please consider a gift to the Hub. You can do so by sending a check to the Elliott School Gift Fund  #180441. If you want to send funds by wire, please contact saaronso@gwu.edu, and we can send the bank information. Thank you for your generosity.

Digital Trade and Data Governance News

- NYT Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI Advances – A federal judge has ruled that The New York Times and other newspapers can proceed with a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging unauthorized use of their articles to train AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

- Switzerland’s Expanded Export Controls – Switzerland has broadened its export controls to include dual-use emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, and semiconductors, aligning with global standards to ensure responsible tech transfer and national security.

Artificial Intelligence News

- U.S. Federal AI Policy – The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delivered on President Trump’s Executive Order to remove barriers to American leadership in AI by releasing two revised policies on Federal Agency Use of AI and Federal Procurement.

- China’s AI-Powered Censorship Machine? – A leaked database reveals that China has developed an AI system capable of automatically flagging and suppressing online content deemed politically sensitive.

- Ukraine's AI Language Model Initiative – Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation is developing the country's first national LLM to enhance AI integration across government, defense, and business sectors. 

- How the U.S. Public and AI Experts View Artificial Intelligence – The public and experts are far apart in their enthusiasm and predictions for AI. But they share similar views in wanting more personal control and worrying regulation will fall short.

- Europe's Shift from U.S. Cloud Services – Amid trade tensions and concerns over data sovereignty, European companies are moving away from U.S. cloud providers seeking alternatives to mitigate potential risks associated with U.S. policies and regulations.

- EU's Big Tech Investigations Remain Firm Amid US Trade Talks – The EU has declared that its antitrust investigations into major U.S. tech companies, including Meta and Apple, will proceed independently of ongoing trade negotiations with the United States.

- China’s $8.2B AI Investment Fund – China has launched a 60 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) state-backed fund to support early-stage AI projects.

What We're Reading

- U.S. AI Regulation Scenarios – A new article explores two possible futures for US AI governance following the 2025 revocation of Biden-era AI policies.

- Data Localization's Threat to Human Rights – Freedom House warns that global data localization laws are undermining digital rights by enabling government surveillance, censorship, and repression, particularly in countries with weak legal protections.

Career Opportunities

- New Commons - The Open Data Policy Lab invites global changemakers to propose innovative data commons for generative AI that serves the public interest.

- AAAS Policy Fellowships – The AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships offer scientists and engineers a yearlong opportunity to contribute to federal policymaking. The application deadline is May 1, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time for a September 1, 2025, fellowship start.

Opportunities to Comment

- EU OPEN Public Comment – The EU has opened up public comment to “assist in the preparation of guidelines on general-purpose AI which aim at clarifying the scope of the rules for providers of general-purpose AI models in Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (‘AI Act’). Those rules will enter into application on 2 August 2025.”