Privacy Chats with Rachel and John

Episode 32: Europe’s AI Optimism, the Fall of 23andMe, and ChatGPT’s New Memory Feature


Listen Later

This is a 3-part episode, so see below for the time-stamps discussing each topic:


🇪🇺 Europe’s AI Ambitions: 00:00-25:00

The EU is stepping up with new announcements aimed at accelerating its AI strategy. But is it too late to compete with the US and China, and how might this shape their positioning as key global privacy regulators? We unpack the optimism, the funding, and the political will behind Europe's AI push.


🧬 23andMe’s Identity Crisis: 25:00-40:50

Once a pioneer in consumer genomics, 23andMe is now navigating a very public privacy backlash and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We explore what went wrong—and what it signals about trust in data-driven health companies.


🧠 Chat Memory Is Here: 40:50-55:44 OpenAI just launched a game-changing “memory” feature that remembers your preferences and builds continuity across chats. Helpful or a little too close for comfort? We dive into the privacy implications and use cases.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


This episode was informed by the following publications: 

Europe’s AI Optimism: 

  • European Commission's latest AI initiatives look to drive competitiveness, broader integration: https://iapp.org/news/a/european-commission-s-latest-ai-initiatives-look-to-drive-competitiveness-broader-integration

  • Shaping Europe’s leadership in artificial intelligence with the AI continent action plan: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/ai-continent_en

  • GDPR Simplification (LinkedIn post written by Stephan Geering): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gdpr-simplification-wish-list-stephan-geering-lnbge?utm_source=chatgpt.com

23andMe: 

  • Congress has questions about 23andMe bankruptcy: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/19/congress-has-questions-about-23andme-bankruptcy/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

  • How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/25/1247139353/23andme-data-genome-bankruptcy-privacy-customer-data?utm_source=chatgpt.com

  • What will happen to your 23andMe data — and can you delete it?: https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/what-happen-23andme-data-how-delete-tfjn5lfmx?utm_source=chatgpt.com®ion=global

ChatGPT Memory Updates: 

  • ChatGPT can now remember and reference all your previous chats (Ars Technica): https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/04/chatgpt-can-now-remember-and-reference-all-your-previous-chats/

  • Memory FAQ - OpenAI: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8590148-memory-faq

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Privacy Chats with Rachel and JohnBy Privacy Chats