Privacy On The Ground is where privacy meets real life. Discussions about privacy in relation to government policy, legal compliance, or tech can be complicated and inaccessible. But the meaning of privacy and how data use affects us in our real lives is anything but: It is contextual and tangible. That's what we aim for with Privacy on the Ground. In this podcast, you'll hear talks and stories that reflect what privacy means for real people and real lives.
Privacy On The Ground is a production of World Privacy Forum, a nonpartisan 501c3 nonprofit public interest research organization. Find us online at www.WorldPrivacyForum.org.
Jevan Hutson on Why AI Entanglement Makes Machine Unlearning for Data Deletion So Hard
As policymakers and legal privacy folks wade through the challenges of machine unlearning for data deletion, AI systems continue to evolve, creating wider gaps between privacy and AI governance law and regulations and the tech used to respond to it. Jevan Hutson is one of those rare legal professionals with a firm grasp on the shifting sands of AI and machine unlearning from a technical perspective. He understands how unlearning works and how it doesn't, and he connects the dots between the theoretical side of law and the practical sides of AI governance methods like unlearning. In this talk, Hutson explains the different forms or levels of machine unlearning, its caveats and limitations. Plus, he digs into his recent work on what he and his colleagues call AI entanglement, the knotted layers of AI-based elements that live inside AI models, things that make governing these systems more and more complex.
28 Jul 2026
Kairan Zhao on the Limits of Machine Unlearning as a Privacy Method
Machine unlearning is a broad category encompassing a variety of techniques intended to remove - or lessen - the presence of sensitive information or concepts such as personal data, intellectual property like branded content and even artistic styles from machine learning models. In the privacy context, machine unlearning is often discussed in relation to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its AI Act, as well as the California Consumer Privacy Act. But the chasm between what some in the policy world might believe machine unlearning can do and the actual technical capabilities of these methods is wide.
This second episode in World Privacy Forum's series on machine unlearning features Kairan Zhao, a PhD candidate at the University of Warwick in the UK focused on unlearning, privacy and AI safety. In this talk she and WPF Deputy Director Kate Kaye discuss key elements of machine unlearning and areas where these techniques are applied. Zhao explains why there could be a long way to go before machine unlearning can be used at scale as an effective AI privacy tool.
The talk in this episode was recorded in March 2026 in Tucson, Arizona at the Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV) where World Privacy Forum held its third WACV privacy tutorial.
Kairan Zhao's related machine unlearning research:
What Makes Unlearning Hard and What to Do About It, Zhao et al., NeurIPS 2024
Scalability of Memorization-Based Machine Unlearning, Zhao et al., FITML @ NeurIPS 2024
Are We Making Progress in Unlearning? Findings from the First NeurIPS Unlearning Competition, Triantafillou et al.
Featured in this episode:
Kairan Zhao, PhD Candidate, Machine Learning, University of Warwick
Dr. Yezhou "YZ" Yang, tenured Associate Professor in Computer Science and Engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University
Jevan Hutson, Director of the Technology Law and Public Policy Clinic, and Acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Law
Kate Kaye, Deputy Director of World Privacy Forum
The Privacy on the Ground intro theme features music by Pangal. Episode music is by Maciej Sadowski.
1 Jul 2026
Machine Unlearning Limitations and Demands with Arizona State University's Yezhou "YZ" Yang
Machine Unlearning is a field of AI research gaining attention in the policy world. It's often discussed in the context of privacy, particularly in relation to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the EU AI Act as well as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). At World Privacy Forum's tutorial at the Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV) in Tucson, Arizona in March 2026, we aimed to bridge gaps in understanding between the technical academic community, including machine unlearning researchers, and the AI governance, policy, and legal communities. In this episode you'll hear a chat with Dr. Yezhou "YZ" Yang, a tenured associate professor in computer science and engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University; Yang spoke at WPF's tutorial about machine unlearning for concept erasure.
Topics discussed:
Why machine unlearning for concept erasure isn't just for privacy
Benchmarks for testing the removal of data - or even the presence of a visual artist's style - from AI models
Why Yang wants to see more inclusion of technical AI practitioners in the policy conversation
Research discussed:
EraseFlow: Learning Concept Erasure Policies via GFlowNet-Driven Alignment (https://openreview.net/forum?id=igB289kbej)
R.A.C.E. : Robust Adversarial Concept Erasure for Secure Text-to-Image Diffusion Model
WOUAF: Weight Modulation for User Attribution and Fingerprinting in Text-to-Image Diffusion Models (https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.04744)
Featured in this episode:
Dr. Yezhou "YZ" Yang, tenured Associate Professor in Computer Science and Engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University
Kate Kaye, Deputy Director of World Privacy Forum
The Privacy on the Ground intro theme features music by Pangal. Episode music is by Maciej Sadowski.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
53
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
Contact Privacy On The Ground
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Privacy On The Ground
Who hosts Privacy On The Ground?
Kate Kaye host the show. Published by World Privacy Forum.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes monthly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Privacy On The Ground take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
Host of Privacy On The Ground?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
