Nobody would seriously argue that a chat bot can replace school counselors in helping pupils taking their first steps on their career paths. However, in the face of a shortage of counselors, aren’t chat bots better than no guidance at all? I like this article for its nuanced discussion of young people relying on specialized (…)
In addition to its core research activities as outlined below, the Swiss AI Initiative is distributing 10-20 million GPU hours in 2025 for disruptive research projects through open calls. We look for research projects that aim to contribute to advances in AI fundamentals or impactful applications of AI. Researchers outside of Switzerland are encouraged to apply if they team up with at least one of our PIs and aim to create novel open science artifacts that benefit the Swiss, European or global ecosystem and societal context.
Soatok is an opinionated cryptographer, but a very good one. After having looked and complained about many ‘private messenger apps’, he has a grab at Signal. But he leads us through his non-findings in a very nice way, which also shows how Signal’s cryptography is chosen and made secure. A very intense and technical read (…)
With physical media, no one can reach into your home and remove what you bought from your shelf.’ Not only can Amazon delete books remotely, the shift towards cloud-based storage for e-books means that copies can be modified by Amazon and publishers at will. With the rapid pace of change in the political environment, it (…)
Bien que la tech du Silicon Valley se plaint toujours de la régulation, je pense que l’état actuel des choses est bien en leur faveur. Laisser ces réseaux dicter la narration, qui est suivie par la plus grande partie de la population, a déjà passablement érodé la confiance dans les organisation étatiques. Vu que les (…)
L’EPFL, en collaboration avec le MIT et Yale, a mis au point, SF-GWAS, un outil pour entraîner des intelligences artificielles sur le génome humain, sans partager les données. SF-GWAS est déjà utilisé dans les cinq hôpitaux universitaires suisses.
Les explications de Jean-Pierre Hubaux, directeur académique du Center for Digital Trust de l’EPFL, au micro de Stéphane Délétroz.
The text explores the concept of trust in transformative technologies, highlighting the importance of understanding the nuances of “trust” in different contexts. It elevates discussions to a philosophical level by questioning the true essence of trust—whether it is rooted in transparency, reliability, or alignment with human values. By addressing these contrasts, the article encourages dialogue (…)
The European Union’s AI Act has reached a significant milestone by banning AI systems across the EU that pose an ‘unacceptable risk,’ defined as serious threats to people’s rights and safety. The Act will be implemented in phases, with additional regulations for high-risk AI systems expected in the next 2-3 years. With security risks from (…)
Following in the footsteps of OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, Google is the latest Big Tech giant to lift restrictions on their AI technologies, in this case with regards to, amongst others, weapons and surveillance. These companies reassuring us over and over again that they were committed to safe and ethical use of AI was a (…)
A very dark example of search engine optimization (SEO): Ice is suspected of updating time stamps of reports on old operations to push them up in Google searches. Whether it is, as the article suggests, done on purpose to create Potemkin-like images of mass deportations, or was just a clumsy update of their website, this (…)
EPFL has set up a Mastodon server for the School community, allowing members to post and share content in a way that’s aligned with the values of open science. We opted for Mastodon because independence and effective communication tools are critical.
We’re thrilled to announce the publication of our latest blog post exploring the remarkable year 2024 of matrix.epfl.ch. 📚In 2024, the Center for Digital Trust discovered matrix.epfl.ch hosted by Edwand Andò from EPFL’s Center for Imaging and decided to offer our support. This led to a fruitful collaboration in 2024 to maintain and develop this (…)
Matrix is a widely used open source chat platform. It is an alternative to platforms such as Slack and MSTeams. In line with C4DT’s objective to promote services in the realm of digital trust, we set up our own Matrix instance and migrated our professional communications there in 2019. A privacy-first approach with encrypted chat (…)
Amid the controversy surrounding Musk’s operatives accessing US government data, this article gives some nice examples of how an organization’s sensitive data could become compromised. At the top of the list is the failure to follow basic cybersecurity protocols, such as adhering to transparently developed guidelines for system access and data handling. Other red flags (…)
Entre l’espionnage de nos conversations WhatsApp et l’activation à distance du micro ou de la caméra de notre téléphone, le film “Cybersurveillance, un impact planétaire” révèle comment des gouvernements utilisent des technologies de surveillance pour cibler certains de leurs citoyens et interroge notre rapport aux libertés fondamentales.
Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, is set to transform the US Digital Service into the US DOGE Service, ostensibly to modernize federal technology. However, there are indications that the true focus is on cost-cutting and workforce reduction, as evidenced by executive orders mandating a government-wide hiring freeze and allowing (…)
Do you believe in magic? Recent research reveals a ‘lower literacy-higher receptivity’ link, suggesting that the less people understand AI, the more they perceive its human-like capabilities as magical, making them more likely to use it. This quirky perspective on how people perceive AI could reveal new ways to communicate its benefits and risks to (…)
In line with C4DT’s objective to promote services in the realm of digital trust, we set up our own Matrix – an open source chat platform – instance and migrated our professional communications there in 2019.
It is said that the Internet is capable of routing around missing links and setting up new routes. But what do you do if the data itself gets removed from the internet? Well, you create a copy, preferably before the data gets taken down. This is the work of the Internet Archive, which shows once (…)
The new laws targeting AI-generated CSAM position the UK as the first nation to criminalize the possession, creation, or distribution of AI tools used for generating such material, imposing penalties of up to five years in prison. These measures also prohibit related manuals, penalize those operating websites that share CSAM, and grant Border Force the (…)
While free fitness apps may seem like a cost-effective way to stay in shape, it’s worth reconsidering the hidden price you pay with the sensitive data these apps collect and sell. Some of these do so with sensitive information, such as racial or ethnic background, disability status, and location data to third parties, yet very (…)
While the ‘Code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online’ that the European Commission included into the Digital Services Act (DSA) is work in progress, the fact that even companies such as Meta and X feel compelled to sign shows that regulations are far from the toothless tigers that they are often made out (…)
Cryptocurrencies are in again thanks to Donald Trump. Is the U-turn the new government is taking on digital assets due to careful deliberations of the advantages and risks? Is its goal to take currencies into the 21st century and beyond? Or is it nothing but the result of an extremely successful lobbying campaign? This may (…)
We’ve been having a lot of discussion about the ‘Swiss Government Cloud,’ which is effectively hosted in the USA and China. The EU has the same setup, but someone – likely in the Trump administration – is now attempting to put holes in it by removing parts of the privacy guarantees its remote cloud has. (…)
