Weekend! Should I write or just relax? Or be torn between those options because I want both and in the end will accomplish neither? Stay tuned. Anyways, as mentioned in my newsletter last week, I’ve more or less successfully unplugged myself from Doom Scrolling to keep my sanity and a get a few things done. Last week, for example, I attended a presentation and conversation at the local Taylor Wessing offices on the EU AI Act, and how its regulatory and legal framework relates to the Data Act and the GDPR. (As it was a DJW Asa no Kai event, a terrific breakfast played a critical supporting role.) One takeaway was that the AI Act—complicated and badly communicated, as usual—belongs to the “Trust & Safety” category, is all about product and consumer safety, and makes a lot of sense if you look at it closely. Another takeaway was that parts of the GDPR are not compatible with the AI and Data Acts; TW’s lawyers even predicted that some of its basic tenets like data minimization will eventually have to yield. As a special treat, two specialists from DeepL were in attendance and tested/demonstrated a new machine translation prototype along the event that I’m allowed to mention, but not to describe in detail, that was really fantastic. All in all, it was very refreshing to see a really cool piece of generative AI in action, and to talk with knowledgeable people about the practical, social, and legal implications and challenges of all kinds of generative AI that are actually real instead of being media-bombarded 24/7 with hot takes from bullshit brokers.

I still haven’t written any new blog posts, except a few micro-reviews (Tsui Hark’s 2025 射鵰英雄傳：俠之大者; Chen Sicheng’s 2025 唐探1900; Drew Hancock’s 2025 Companion) and a full-length review on Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2009 A Serious Man. Also, I uploaded several new Tōkyō albums at my Flickr account (Sumida Residential; Uguisudani Station; Tokyo National Museum, Toyosu), and there are my daily travel squaries on Pixelfed.

For the Sunday Funnies, here’s the classic argument skit by Monty Python and an extremely dangerous cat video that threatens to kill you with cuteness.

Enjoy!
J.