Reverse centaurs: EU approach to AI risks dystopia for human workers
The EU Commission is manifesting AI as a ‘vulgar Thatcherism’, while leaving the predictably negative side-effects to fall on citizens.
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Russia’s faith in ‘error-free’ killer robots and global divisions expose the moral vacuum in AI warfare
While drones already account for most of the bloodshed in Ukraine, the push to let AI, not humans, choose who lives or dies is racing far ahead of any global rules meant to protect civilians.
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As EU AI Act enters into force, study warns chatbots blur voters’ own political views
As the EU’s AI act comes into force, new research warns how vulnerable our political opinions may be to AI interference. Citizens may lose the ability to identify the source of their opinions, limiting their democratic autonomy – a fundamental pillar of EU politics
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EU to co-fund seven AI Gigafactories in race for tech autonomy
The EU is seeking to build seven AI Gigafactories to reduce dependence on foreign tech, in a multi-billion euro public-private scheme.
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EU-banned facial-recognition cameras made in Spain now watch millions of Indians
From Delhi to Jaipur, India is rolling out facial-recognition technology to monitor millions of its citizens. Investigate Europe has found that behind much of the software is Spanish company Herta Security – but critics argue the government promise of public safety is not the main aim.
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At Ankara, Nato has to admit a hard truth: its most vital AI infrastructure is built for business, not war
Data centres are mostly not built to withstand hostile attack, and the Iranian drones that struck Amazon’s sites in the Gulf showed that threat is no longer hypothetical. Cybersecurity incidents are also rising, and they tend to target data centres’ power and cooling systems and their interface with the grid.
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The EU’s new AI envoy is a tech CEO with extraordinary conflicts of interest
The EU Commission’s decision to appoint the chair of Siemens, Jim Hagemann Snabe, as AI envoy is rife with extraordinary conflicts of interest. Brussels is currently engaged in an unprecedented rollback of digital, social, and environmental rules, which often closely mirror industry lobbying demands. Now it seems that corporate interests don’t just have a seat at the table — they have an office in the Berlaymont.
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[Interview] Dependence on US or Chinese tech risks psychological erosion of EU values, ex-commission official warns
“Citizens can make personal choices – I decided on the Fairphone, with a Murena operating system, which is de-Googled,” said Belgian AI expert.
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Why Pope Leo is right to call on EU to regulate lethal AI weapons
Pope Leo has chosen to confront one of the most pressing issues of our time by placing lethal autonomous weapons and the militarisation of artificial intelligence at the centre of his thinking.
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EU has 30 days to fix a blind spot on risky AI systems like Pegasus
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[Interview] Dublin ‘can’t trust itself to do the right thing’: Why Irish EU presidency should recuse itself from regulating Big Tech
On 1 July this year, Ireland takes the rotating EU presidency and agenda powers on the crown jewels of EU tech laws: “That should make you worried,” says activist Johnny Ryan.
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The Auschwitz violinist who never existed: Europe’s new wave of Holocaust-distorting fakes
Most of Europe has seen antisemitism re-emerge dramatically and in explicit and violent forms. Yet alongside it, a more insidious trend is also taking hold: the growing normalisation of Holocaust distortion through fabricated imagery, misleading historical narratives and manipulated content.
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[Interview] Europe’s data chief on sharing info with US: ‘The concerns are really big’
From concerns over Israel to getting negotiations right with “our American friends,” data protection has been no walk in the park for veteran EU supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski.
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MEPs demand EU Commission scrap ‘unlawful’ secrecy on data centres environmental footprint
EU lawmakers accuse the commission of breaching public access to information rules – by amending a law actually intended to bring transparency to the rapidly-expanding data centre sector.
call for data centre transparency after Investigate Europe revelations of Big Tech lobbying campaign
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Europe rolls out the red carpet for AI data centres, as water‑and‑energy backlash spreads
In the US, the backlash against AI data centres is bipartisan, organised and growing. But not in Europe, where government are bending over backwards to attract them, writes Albert Alemanno.
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Listen: Is the EU backtracking on AI regulation?
Two years after adopting its AI Act, the EU is already preparing to simplify it. Does this mean Europeans are scaling back their regulatory ambitions on AI?
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When it comes to tech’s software dependency, what does ‘Buy European’ even mean?
European digital assets have a habit of not staying European. A ‘Buy European’ label is not a sovereignty guarantee unless it embraces licensing as a tool and helps to safeguard the supply chains the software depends on.
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Why the EU Commission’s plan for an AI data-centres boom is short-sighted
Water-resource conflicts already happening in Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands will only worsen now that the EU Commission plans to triple data centre capacity in Europe over the next five to seven years. Little thought has been given to the oligopolistic cloud market and how it will evolve if the EU triples its data centre capacity.
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EU-made facial recognition ended up scanning schoolchildren in Brazil
The EU restricts biometric surveillance at home – but its landmark AI Act does nothing to prevent European companies from exporting the same technology abroad.
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MEPs call for new copyright rules when AI trains on protected works
MEPs on Tuesday called for greater transparency and payment for copyrighted works used in AI technology — and legal consequences for violations.
