Contrary to what the author posits, I don’t think there is anything to fix about social media: it gives people the adrenaline rush they want, and comforts VC money by showing exponential growth. What can be changed is the way we prioritize seeking spaces to hang out with people we like. Mastodon is one such (…)
This article highlights the alarming reliance of critical infrastructure on outdated technology, exposing significant vulnerabilities in essential systems. The need for uninterrupted operation and compatibility requirements presents major challenges to the modernization of these legacy systems, and the costs to upgrade are steep. Yet the potential for catastrophic failure due to obsolete equipment underscores the (…)
As LLM agents become ‘en vogue’, we need to rethink the attacks they open to malicious third parties. Here Simon Willison describes a combination often seen in such agents that will put your private data at risk. Unfortunately, there is currently not much you can do, except be aware that all the data that agents (…)
I was intrigued by this article, as it highlights how war impacts a country’s digital assets – something that is very relevant, yet little discussed, in today’s digitalized world.
This atlas of algorithmic systems curated by AlgorithmWatch CH is a nonexhaustive yet revealing list of algorithms currently deployed in Switzerland, whether to ‘predict, recommend, affect or take decisions about human beings’ or to ‘generate content used by or on human beings.’ The atlas is really eye-opening for me – so many systems that we (…)
Digitale Souveränität und doch bei einem der ‘Großen’ einkaufen? Mit diesem Versprechen sind US-amerikanische Tech-Giganten in den letzten Jahren in Europa werben gegangen. Doch wie passt das zusammen mit dem Versuch der schweizerischen Öffentlichkeit die Details der Rahmenverträge mit dem Bund vorenthalten zu wollen?
It’s fascinating to see the tightrope dance Microsoft is doing with open source. While most of its operating system is closed source, Microsoft actively participates in several open source projects and provides some of its programs under an open source license. Open sourcing is beneficial because it allows security researchers to examine the source code (…)
‘I call it the ‘AI dilemma’: while AI may threaten many jobs, it also serves as an essential tool to mitigate its own impact by boosting re-skilling and upskilling initiatives. I appreciate this article because it demonstrates how agentic AI can be employed in lifelong learning systems to reduce skill gaps, which are in part (…)
A senior official in the Trump administration has withdrawn a proposal that would have prevented data brokers from selling Americans’ personal and financial information, leaving these companies exempt from federal privacy regulations that apply to other companies. It’s puzzling that sharing health data requires strict consent and safeguards, while other personal data can be shared (…)
Should we use the tools that can destroy us to help us? This high-school student developed a tool to flag potential extremists on Reddit and then engage with them to de-radicalize them. According to the student, he never actually employed the chat function on real persons, only on fake accounts. Reddit’s terms forbid using AI (…)
Melanie Kolbe-Guyot und Matthias Finger diskutieren die Notwendigkeit einer umfassenden Datenpolitik für die Schweiz, um das Potenzial von Daten durch klare Regeln und Anreize zu nutzen und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit langfristig zu sichern. Es formuliert 6 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Politik.
In diesem Paper diskutieren Melanie Kolbe-Guyot und Matthias Finger die Notwendigkeit einer umfassenden Datenpolitik für die Schweiz, um das Potenzial von Daten durch klare Regeln und Anreize zu nutzen und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit langfristig zu sichern. Es formuliert 6 Handlungsempfehlungen für die Politik.
Supply chain attacks are improving through automation. Adding new libraries to a software project has always been a point of vulnerability, but now that tools like ‘Cursor’ can add libraries automatically, developers are paying less attention to what gets installed. Some tools add libraries that send API keys of LLMs to attackers and load other (…)
Machine Learning in molecular medicine
Interested in this theme? Looking to participate or collaborate on an initiative? The increasing prevalence of AI-powered systems and autonomous agents requires a shift in how we approach software development. It is critical to explore technologies, policies, and collaborations that enhance trust in software applications, particularly in an era where AI agents play an active (…)
Interested in this theme? Looking to participate or collaborate on an initiative? In an increasingly digital society, trust in democratic processes, institutions, and identity systems is fundamental to maintaining social stability and governance. Digital democracy relies on resilient e-governance infrastructures such as secure and privacy-preserving digital identities, trusted online platforms for citizen participation and cybersecure (…)
Carnegie Mellon University Africa, through its Upanzi Network initiative, has launched the Digital Experience Centre (DEC). The DEC serves as a hub for exploring and testing digital public infrastructure, digital public goods, cybersecurity, public health, agriculture and more. It demonstrates how key digital solutions—such as digital identity, digital payments and secure infrastructure—interoperate in real-world scenarios.
If you’re into vibe-coding (programming entirely through interactions with an LLM) or are looking to use LLMs for your coding, here is a list of the latest projects, including both paid and free tools. However, when using these tools, it’s essential to consider the potential security and privacy risks. LLMs may generate code with vulnerabilities (…)
We all heard that big AI companies need petabytes of data for training their new models. And we all heard that they don’t really care where they get their data from. Besides potential copyright infringement, this crawling takes another toll on some Open Source projects: Continuously requesting data over and over is similar to a (…)
If the revelation that Trump administration officials accidentally added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat about sensitive military plans for airstrikes in Yemen wasn’t alarming enough, new reports now show that multiple Venmo accounts linked to former Trump officials were left publicly accessible, exposing sensitive connections and financial transactions. While the data leaked (…)
Ein schöner Überblicksartikel über wichtige Projekte der Digitalpolitik der EU in den letzten Jahren und ob und wie sie sich auf die Schweiz auswirken. Besonders interessant fand ich, dass gerade beim Konsumentenschutz die Schweiz eben nicht automatisch mitprofitiert wenn die EU eine härtere Gangart gegen Big Tech einschlägt.
This investigation highlights a crucial cybersecurity reality: while we often focus on sophisticated zero-day exploits, the greater threat comes from known vulnerabilities and misplaced trust. One million Android devices weren’t compromised through cutting-edge techniques but through traditional means – preinstalled backdoors and users installing unvetted apps outside official stores. The victims were vulnerable because they (…)
We often hear or talk about ‘IT for good’ and ‘responsible behaviour’ in the digital world, assuming a single universal common understanding of what’s good and what’s responsible. Things start to get confusing when we think about for whom a service or action is good or responsible: for all humanity, including the ‘bad guys’? for (…)
My colleague Melanie’s pick last week about Swiss supermarket chain Coop using AI-supported video surveillance in its stores for security purposes reminded me of the recent revelation that American supermarket chain Kroger may be engaging in surveillance pricing, i.e., using algorithms and data collected on customers (including through facial recognition technology) to determine the highest (…)
