Citizens have a right to an explanation of the decisions affecting them. However, if AIs are to be used in decision procedures, how can we explain complex AI systems to the general public, while so many computer scientists find them inscrutably opaque? In this presentation, an optimistic approach to this seemingly hopeless question will be presented.
Cloud computing
With AI, the voice has acquired a new significance. Behind the words lies data that can be used both to diagnose a health problem and to steal someone’s identity. An update with Andrea Cavallaro, professor and head of the Multimedia and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory, affiliated with C4DT, at EPFL
What I appreciated about this article was the unfiltered opinion of a cybersecurity expert that unpacks how even smart, capable people can become emotionally and cognitively captured by AI systems that flatter, mirror, and intensify their own narratives. It’s admittedly subjective, but sharp and uncomfortably thought-provoking.
This article touches on several deeply interconnected problems that go beyond just “bad behavior online”. It’s about the normalization of violence against women in digital spaces, enabled by Telegram’s deliberate hands-off approach to moderation, the anonymity the platform offers, and a regulatory framework that hasn’t kept pace with how these technologies are being weaponized. What (…)
Geneva Cyber Week 2026 will bring together experts from a variety of sectors across multiple events to discuss the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in cybersecurity.
Since Anthropic announced that it’ll not publicly release its newest Claude Mythos model because of concerns around its capabilities in exploiting software vulnerabilities, I have been searching for a good analysis of this non-release. I wondered whether this was truly responsible disclosure or nothing but a marketing stunt. Bruce Schneier’s take on it finally answered (…)
I took part in this ‘fibre rush’, and I always emphasise that digitalisation fundamentally requires substantial physical infrastructure. Learning from history can help us to identify patterns that we should take into account during today’s AI boom. However, there are also crucial differences: data centres incur significantly higher maintenance costs, and GPUs depreciate much faster (…)
We’re used to the terms “echo chambers” and “filter bubbles” when discussing the dangers of social networks, search engines, and personalized ads. Now, with AI chatbots, a new term joins the ranks: “sycophancy”, or telling people what they want to hear. Could sycophantic chatbots be more harmful than social media echo chambers? My gut says (…)
I strongly believe AI tools that engage citizens directly in shaping policy will be the main engine of future political campaigns. We’re familiar by now with stories about AI influencing voters’ opinions. What’s new here is the use of AI to shape a political party’s principles and policies and making such tools open and usable (…)
Identité digitale, intelligence artificielle, interopérabilité : les fondations de la santé numérique se transforment en profondeur. Un symposium pour en saisir les enjeux et rencontrer les acteurs qui les façonnent, organisé par Trust Valley à Martigny.
The Swiss IGF 2026 will take place on Tuesday, June 16 at Welle 7 in Bern. Participation in the conference is still open to all individuals and organisations, but it is worth becoming a member of the association, as the previous participation rights of the steering group are now open to all members. More info soon!
In “On Privacy and Technology”, Prof. Solove distils years of rigorous academic research into an accessible analysis that cuts through the noise surrounding privacy debates with surgical precision. What makes this work particularly compelling is Solove’s unflinching exposure of uncomfortable truths: the consent model is fundamentally flawed, self-regulation has failed and cannot succeed, and current (…)
From Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), to Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) – also sometimes called Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), it’s interesting to notice how much we rely on specific tools to “see the world”. With search engines, we had to scroll down the results and decide ourselves which links were relevant (and still feared how much (…)
Die Digitale Gesellschaft hat das Urteil des Bundesverwaltungsgerichtes vom 19. November 2025 mit Genugtuung zur Kenntnis genommen. Noch ist nicht klar ob das Parlament bei der Revision des Gesetzes zur Kabelaufklärung dieses Urteil miteinbezieht. Das Urteil ist nämlich sehr klar und sagt, dass fast alle Punkte des alten Gesetzes eine Massenüberwachung nach dem EGMR darstellen. (…)
Finally, the term I’ve been looking for! Technology paternalism: when technical systems shape, restrict, or pre-decide our choices before we can make them. What strikes me most about this concept is how it finds echoes in so many current political debates—collective goals (safety, security, efficiency) versus individual choice; autonomy versus dependency; who holds power and (…)
Choudary, Sangeet Paul (2025) Reshuffle: Who wins when AI restacks the knowledge economy (ISBN-13: 979-8294127213), Independently published, 460 pages. By Olivier Crochat “AI’s value lies less in automating tasks and more in enabling new coordination and decision-making architectures.” In his book Reshuffle, Choudary offers a compelling framework for leaders to navigate the organisational impact of (…)
If you have an iOS device, now is a good time to make sure updates are applied automatically, and get the latest software version. Somebody posted an exploit on GitHub that gives hackers full control of any iOS device not updated since September 2025. Usually, these exploits are usually well-kept secrets, as they are very (…)
This case is groundbreaking because it’s the first time a jury has held social media companies legally accountable for harm caused by their platform designs, not just user content.The verdict challenges the tech industry’s traditional legal protections and directly links addictive platform features to mental health harm in young users. As a “bellwether” case, it (…)
I was pleasantly surprised to read this interesting article about SCION, Switzerland’s approach to improved internet routing and security. What struck me was Prof. Perrig’s preference for ‘optionality’ over ‘sovereignty’ — freedom to choose paths, trust roots or network. The solution works yet adoption stalls because organisations are ‘numb’ to known vulnerabilities and reluctant to (…)
The spread of deepfakes, erosion of trust in authentic images and hallucinating chatbots are today well-known issues. These phenomena are especially problematic in rapidly evolving situations, when people are looking for updates, but reliable information is not yet available. Add algorithmic content distribution to the mix, and you get a perfect storm of misinformation. While (…)
Google startete schon 2010 ein ‘Vulnerability Reward Program’, ein Bug-Bounty für alle Services von Google, das Belohnungen auszahlt, allein 17 Millionen US-$ 2025. Dieser Betrag wurde an mehr als 700 Analysten verteilt, die Fehler in Android, der Google Cloud, aber auch in verbreiteten und häufig gebrauchten Open Source Programmen und Bibliotheken fanden. Auch wenn 17 (…)
The camera hacking issue is problematic because it weaponizes civilian devices without owners’ consent, creating an accountability gap where victims can’t control the security of cameras used against them. It democratizes military intelligence by replacing expensive satellites with cheap consumer cameras,and is nearly impossible to solve since millions of unpatched devices exist worldwide. Most fundamentally, (…)
I like the idea behind this tool because it tackles a serious online societal problem. I’m curious if and how it will pass the test of time. The key challenge will be to link subjective criteria to objective metrics – a problem we’ve seen with privacy, which still lacks objective benchmarks despite substantial research. But (…)
