New Scientist changed the UK's freedom of information laws in 2025 By requesting copies of the then-UK technology secretary's ChatGPT logs, New Scientist set a precedent for how freedom of information laws apply to chatbot interactions, helping to hold governments to account Our successful request for Peter Kyle's ChatGPT logs stunned observers When I fired off an email at the start of 2025, I hadn't intended to set a legal precedent for how the UK government handles its interactions with AI chatbots, but that is exactly what happened. It all began in January when I read an interview with the then-UK tech secretary Peter Kyle in . Trying to suggest he used first-hand the technology his department was set up to regulate, Kyle said that he would often have conversations with ChatGPT. AI may blunt our thinking skills - here's what you can do about it That got me wondering: could I obtain his chat history? Freedom of information (FOI) laws are often deployed to obtain emails and other documents produced by public bodies, but past precedent has suggested that some private data - such as search queries - aren't eligible for release in this way. I was interested to see which way the chatbot conversations would be categorised.

It is a question that scientists have been wrestling with since the dawn of computing in the 1950s, when Alan Turing asked: "Can machines think?" Now that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have been unleashed on the world, finding an answer has never been more pressing. While their use has already become widespread, the social norms around these new AI tools are still rapidly evolving. Should students use them to write essays? Will they replace your therapist?

AI & PANDEMICS - Workshop & Lecture Series on Information Law with Frank Pasquale Time: 2020/09/28 09:00 2020/09/28 11:30 09:00-10:00 Speech "What is the Future of Automation Post-COVID-19?", based on Frank Pasquale's new book - "New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in an Age of AI" * The official language of the event is English. Interpretation to Mandarin will not be available.