From 2 August 2025, new rules under the EU AI Act will directly affect how accountants use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini—especially if you operate in the EU or serve EU-based clients. Here’s what small firm owners need to know (wherever you’re based): ✅ What You Need to Do 1. Be Transparent with Clients If you use AI to generate insights, draft reports, or summarise accounts, you must let clients know—either in the final deliverable or engagement letter. 2. Avoid Prohibited Uses The following are banned, even for internal use: - Emotional profiling - Behavioural manipulation - Biometric surveillance (e.g. emotion detection or facial recognition) 3. Complete a Risk Assessment Each use of AI needs to be classified: - Minimal risk (e.g. summarising public info): little action needed - Limited risk (e.g. AI-assisted report drafting): requires documentation and transparency - High risk (e.g. credit scoring, fraud detection): needs human oversight and strict controls Most AI use in small firms will fall into the limited risk category. 4. Apply the Same Logic as GDPR Treat AI tools like you treat personal data: - Record what you use, when, and why - Note who reviews AI outputs - Add disclaimers or checks where needed 5. Choose Compliant Tools Use AI platforms that: - Offer enterprise-grade security - Allow opt-outs from training - Ideally use EU-based data processing Good options: ChatGPT Team or Enterprise, Claude via Amazon Bedrock, or a local model via Ollama. 🌍 Regional Differences EU Firms: Full compliance required. Treat it like GDPR—document, assess, disclose. UK Firms : If you serve EU clients, the Act applies. If not, you’re exempt—but similar UK guidelines may still apply. Canada / US: You’re only affected if you serve EU clients or use EU-based tools—but similar laws are coming. 🧭 Practical Example A firm in Ireland must fully comply. A firm in the UK must comply only if it serves EU clients. A firm in Canada is exempt—unless it processes EU data or uses EU tools.

Big AI news today — GPT-5 has officially launched, and it’s a major change for ChatGPT users. Here’s what you need to know: 📅 When & Who Gets It - Rolling out starting today to Team and Pro accounts. - Plus accounts: expected next in the rollout window (OpenAI says “coming weeks”). - Enterprise/Edu: staged rollout to follow. - Free tier: not today—will arrive later in the broader rollout once the switch to the new default completes. - Free for everyone — from the free tier all the way up to the $200 Pro plan - GPT-5 is now the only model in ChatGPT — no more model picker or “thinking model” options 🆕 Key Changes - All tools rolled into one model — browsing, custom instructions, Canvas, code interpreter, etc. - Automatically decides when to “think” longer or just give a quick answer - Claimed fewer hallucinations and less deceptive answers - More emotionally resonant responses (think higher EQ, better tone) - Deep thinking mode only for the $200 Pro plan - New integrations coming soon: Gmail and Calendar connectors (Plus & Pro plans only) - Voice mode for custom GPTs 💡 Why It Matters For free users, this is a huge leap — you now get the flagship model with all the tools in one place. For power users, it’s an incremental but welcome upgrade: cleaner workflow, stronger base model, and no more juggling different model types. Have you tried GPT-5 yet? What’s the first thing you want to test it on?

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/tech-pulse/what-the-eu-ai-act-means-for-accountancy-firms?cm-uuid=f85d5b07-cfb3-4aab-98f4-7dcc9e69e54f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AWUKITP240725&utm_content=AWUKITP240725+CID_a52117e47e2f4a346bafd06147cf4246&utm_source=internal_cm&utm_term=Read%20more

Just read OpenAI’s response to the NYT data demands. The legal push to preserve all ChatGPT logs—even deleted ones—raises serious privacy questions. Would love to hear your thoughts. https://openai.com/index/response-to-nyt-data-demands/

@Mark Wickersham What do you think about Disney suing Midjourney? The horse is out of the barn, and it's too late for Disney. I find it amusing that movie studios do the 25% different thing so as not to pay the original creators of their work, but when it's their work, it's a different story. Ultimately, it's about money (As Kevin O'Leary says, 'It's always about the money.' Disney wants every penny it can get and doesn't care how it gets it. The really funny part is that Disney is all in on AI, and will use it to their benefit, but god help anyone else using it for their benefit.