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Study suggests X turned right just in time for election season

This article discusses a study suggesting algorithmic bias favoring Republican-leaning content, and its owner Elon Musk's posts in particular, on the social media platform X. The study further claims that this bias dates back to when Musk officially started supporting Donald Trump. While it is of course impossible to prove these allegations without access to X's internal algorithms, it is deeply concerning that a platform with such far reach is not above suspicions of instrumentalisation. This raises troubling questions about the health of public discourse on such platforms when throwing a switch on the whim of it's owner is not only possible but also acceptable.

New C4DT Observer #14 , entitled “The Impact of AI on Elections and Public Perception”, is out !

This publication revisits key questions with speakers from the Oct 1st conference on “Deepfakes, Distrust and Disinformation" through the lens of public perception and seeks to advance the debate surrounding AI, misinformation, and disinformation, especially in political contexts.

We finally have an ‘official’ definition for open source AI

I found this article fascinating since it highlights the complexity of defining what 'open-source AI' should mean. Today, it is a confusing topic, with many models being 'open-source' in name only. For neural networks, training data and source code are inseparable; together, they define how the model is programmed. Therefore, should we be allowed to exclude the training data? Probably not. But what about in privacy-preserving federated learning of AI models, for example, in healthcare where data cannot be legally shared...? OSI's definition will struggle to get unanimous approval.

Change Healthcare Breach Hits 100M Americans

The Change Healthcare breach is deeply concerning, highlighting the vulnerabilities in centralized data systems used to protect sensitive healthcare information. The response to this illustrates a consistently reactive (rather than proactive) political action, where acceptable cybersecurity standards in legislation are only proposed after a significant data breach affects 100 million Americans.

Should We Chat, Too? Security Analysis of WeChat’s MMTLS Encryption Protocol

I really like this report and its accompanying FAQ for non-technical readers. Citizen Lab is of course a defender for human rights and freedom of expression, but in this article, they don’t rail on about how China’s weak data protection ecosystem impinges on people’s right to privacy. They just do the technical legwork and let the results speak for themselves.

Machines of Loving Grace

Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, is one of today's leading figures in AI. In his essay, he envisions a future where powerful AI could radically improve human life by accelerating progress in areas such as biology, mental health, economic development, and governance. He foresees a more equitable and prosperous world resulting from these advancements. I particularly appreciated his message of hope: 'Many implications of powerful AI are adversarial or dangerous, but there must be something we’re fighting for—a positive-sum outcome where everyone is better off, something to rally people to rise above their squabbles and confront the challenges ahead. Fear may motivate, but it’s not enough: we need hope as well.'

Recordings of C4DT Conference on Disinformation, Elections and AI now online!

📣 New Publication Alert! 📣 📽️ The recordings of the October 1st Conference on "Deepfakes, Distrust and Disinformation: The Impact of AI on Elections and Public Perception" are now accessible here

Meta’s going to put AI-generated images in your Facebook and Instagram feeds

Social networks began by enabling us to connect online with our family and friends and with communities of interest. Influencers then helped generate the growth that was “missing” on the personal side. AI-generated content, which Mark Zuckerberg sees as the next “logical jump” in the engagement race, seems very creepy to me if you consider the initial goal of such networks.

New C4DT Focus #7 , entitled “The Encryption Dilemma”, is out !

The issue revolves around the tension between the need for security in digital communications, exemplified by end-to-end encryption, and the concerns of governments and security agencies regarding their ability to intercept criminal activities, particularly the sharing of child sexual abuse…

U.S. Wiretap Systems Targeted in China-Linked Hack

This hack on U.S. wiretap systems illustrates the risks of creating backdoors meant only for 'good guys.' Similar concerns have been raised about the EU's chat control legislation. Whatever weaknesses are designed to allow for 'lawful interception' also opens opportunities for 'unlawful interception', it is as simple as that.

“Deepfakes, Distrust and Disinformation” Conference: Acknowledgements and Thanks

C4DT would like to express a BIG THANK YOU to the speakers, panelists, moderators, to the attendees and to the partner Centers who have made this C4DT conference such a memorable and interesting event! We are very thankful for this…

Telegram will now provide some user data to authorities

Telegram is used for freedom of speech (resp. cybercrime, at a presumably smaller scale), as is TOR,and many of the privacy-preserving systems around us. Will the latter have the same fate as Telegram? or does the fact that they are "distributed" spare them? I'm curious how democracies can enforce law to systems distributed worldwide. Prohibit their usage? stop investment in their research? other ideas? it's not straightforward.

C4DT Conference on Disinformation, Elections and AI

Join us on October 1st for the C4DT conference entitled "Deepfakes, Distrust and Disinformation: The Impact of AI on Elections and Public Perception, which will be held at the SwissTech Convention Center, EPFL.