950 research outputs found
Guardians or threats? The double-edged role of artificial intelligence in cyber security
No full textObjectives: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force within the domain of cyber security, offering significant advancements in threat detection, risk assessment, and automated response. Prior work: Leveraging machine learning, natural language processing, and anomaly detection algorithms, AI-driven systems enable organizations to process vast volumes of data, identify patterns of malicious behavior, and mitigate potential cyber threats with increased speed and accuracy. These innovations have positioned AI as a cornerstone in modern cyber defense strategies. However, the same technologies that enhance defensive capabilities are increasingly exploited by adversaries to conduct more sophisticated, targeted, and evasive cyberattacks. Malicious actors utilize AI to develop adaptive malware, automate vulnerability exploitation, and execute advanced phishing and social engineering schemes - including the deployment of deepfakes and synthetic identities. This dual-use nature of AI introduces a complex landscape in which the boundaries between protective tools and offensive weapons are increasingly blurred. Approach: This article offers a comprehensive examination of AI’s dual role in cyber security, analyzing both its utility in enhancing defensive frameworks and its potential as a tool for cyber offense. Implications: It further explores the ethical, legal, and governance challenges posed by AI integration, including issues of algorithmic transparency, accountability, and regulatory compliance. Value: Through a review of contemporary applications, emerging threats, and current policy responses, the article provides a critical assessment of the opportunities and risks associated with AI in cyber security, and proposes recommendations for building resilient, ethically grounded, and forward-looking security infrastructures
Competition law in the age of AI: Confronting algorithmic collusion in the smart economy
No full textAI-driven pricing has become vital in the smart economy, boosted by advancements in IoT, AI, and big data. While robots and AI systems enhance efficiency and drive innovation across digital commerce platforms, they also raise competition law concerns. Algorithmic collusion is a prime example, as autonomous algorithms can independently coordinate market behaviour, challenging traditional liability frameworks. Though competition laws in regions like the EU, US, and China generally prohibit algorithmic collusion, the complex structures of these algorithms make it difficult to pinpoint responsible parties and assign liability accurately. This paper explores these complexities and examines algorithmic collusion's implications for liability attribution through a comparative lens. While EU case law provides some regulatory guidance, it often falls short in addressing the unique nature of algorithmic collusion. China’s approach is more restrictive, at times overlooking the autonomy of advanced AI systems. Given its distinct characteristics, algorithmic collusion requires a regulatory approach that differs from traditional collusion, particularly regarding liability. Additionally, this paper argues for the potential special liability of AI designers, who, given their expertise and control over AI, may need to adhere to higher ethical standards. These considerations suggest a need for regulation that both safeguards fair competition and fosters innovation in the evolving digital economy
The birth and early years of INA, the International Neurotoxicology Association
No full textAbstractThe International Neurotoxicology Association (INA) is a scientific society whose members have interest and expertise in the discipline of neurotoxicology. The idea of forming INA was born in 1984, as a follow-up to a NATO-sponsored meeting on Toxicology of the Nervous System. INA held its first meeting in the Netherlands in 1987 and has had continuous meetings every other year since then. INA is registered as a scientific society in the Netherlands, and is an affiliated society of IUTOX. This paper presents a personal account of the events that led to the birth of INA, and of the first fifteen years of this association
Bundling and tying in smart living
No full textSmart living is a trend promising more comfort, security, and energy efficiency in our everyday life through digitalization and the inter-connectivity of devices. From driverless cars to smart thermostats, from movable office to ecosystem of smart home, all of them are smart “objects” on which smart living and smart cities rely, involving original and innovative solutions aimed at making life more efficient, more controllable, economical, productive, integrated, and sustainable. Nowadays, these objects are not single products anymore but a series of integrated products, which can be tied or bundled. However, the bunding and tying are not traditional one, like ordinary merchandise or software tying in the landmark case Microsoft. It can be between software and hardware, as well as with a more complicated structure. For the smart objects the bundling and tying may be not limited in bilateral ones but also can be multilateral. This paper aims to discuss bundling and tying products in a smart city life, and mainly the commercial reality of such smart products on how the components are bundled and tied. After, it analyses the structure of bundling and tying in some smart products to confirm whether there is a main product, which can be either a hardware or a software, or net-shaped like in the ecosystem of smart home. Based on these commercial realities, this paper discusses whether multilateral bundling and tying related to smart objects may be a threat to a competition order and mainly to violate Articles 102 TFEU
Algorithms weighing lives and freedoms: The case of China’s health code
No full textIn response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the beginning of 2020, Chinese local governments created a software extension on existing mobile applications to monitor citizens’ movement and collect their health data. Very quickly China’s health code became a key resource for the country’s governments to track and contain COVID-19 cases using time, location, and personal interactions. China’s health code system represents an unprecedented form of “biological” governance, which demonstrates and supports the transformation empowered by digital technologies, enhancing the access to healthcare and fusing together mass surveillance and fundamental public service provision. Digital contact tracing has attracted enormous interest among academics and legislators since the outbreak of COVID-19, which resulted in several policy papers and research works, discussing issues, such as the effectiveness and accuracy of virus detection, as well concerns in regard to discrimination and data privacy. However, most of the articles refers to technologies and its implications in the West, and less to the peculiarities and problems related to the use of Chinese health code. Present research analysis the issues related to difficulties to achieve a balance between China’s “zero-COVID policy” and freedom of movement, as well those regarding multiple health code’s proliferation, health code abuses and misuses by officials who do not want to miss any cases for fear of outbreak or being fired. Since China’s health code system is still far from being centralized and uniform across the country, the mutual recognition system has resulted in considerable problems for those who find themselves in high-risk areas
Smart life and sustainable development: a comparative analysis on energy and water efficiency in China and the EU
No full textSmart life relies on huge volumes of data analysis, which makes data centers become important infrastructure in smart city areas. Nowadays, data centers are constructed in many countries and have become increasingly large electricity consumers. The consumption of electricity is caused not only by the servers of data centers but also by the cooling systems. Meanwhile, data centers also demand water - cooling methods, which result in water consumption. As for sustainable development, water and energy consumption are huge challenges. Laws and rules are necessary for utilizing efficiently relevant sources. This paper will analyze China and the European Union (EU) as two examples of jurisdictions to compare how the governments regulate the construction of data centers to implement the thrift of electricity and water. In China, provinces and cities established diverse regulations based on their different natural and climate conditions, thus there is not a uniform model for the implementation in the country. In the EU, the amendment of Energy Efficiency Directive seeks to establish common policies. The difference of rules in these two jurisdictions reflects that China and the EU have their own principles and objectives: China attempts to balance the demand of developing smart city infrastructures and the consumption on natural resources, but the EU has strong ambition on low carbon emission in the whole Union. However, the two jurisdictions still have a common goal to maximize the efficiency of water and electricity consumption which is a fundamental issue for accelerating the transition towards sustainability
Koło się zamyka
No full textIna Söllner was one of Schulz’s young sitters. As an adult person, she discovered in her autograph book a portrait of her mother, Ina, made by Schulz. The drawing called The King of Frogs [Żabi król] and a dedication referring to her mother sitting provoke the author to analyze her family connections with Schulz. Even though she does not remember her meeting with the artist, she reconstructs Schulz’s place in her biography and the circumstances under which they might have met
Navigating face recognition technology: A comparative study of regulatory and ethical challenges in China and the European Union
No full textFace recognition technology, while advancing rapidly, presents unique challenges in both China and the European Union (EU). This comparative study explores the distinct regulatory, ethical, and social obstacles each jurisdiction faces. In China, the widespread implementation of face recognition is facilitated by a supportive regulatory environment and a societal emphasis on security and surveillance. However, this has raised significant concerns regarding privacy, data security, and the potential for misuse by the authorities or private entities. In contrast, the EU’s stringent data protection laws, particularly the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), impose rigorous constraints on the deployment of face recognition technologies. These regulations aim to safeguard individual privacy but also create hurdles for technological advancement and implementation. Furthermore, public skepticism and ethical considerations in the EU limit the adoption of face recognition. This paper highlights the dichotomy between China\u27s rapid technological adoption with lesser regulatory constraints and the EU’s cautious, privacy-centric approach, highlighting the need for a balanced framework that can navigate the ethical implications and privacy concerns while fostering technological innovation and addressing societal security needs in both regions
Pioneering Doktormutter Remembering Ina-Maria Greverus
No full textThe author reconsiders German scholar Ina-Maria Greverus as a committed feminist supporter of female doctoral students and early career academics. Greverus acted as an innovator especially in the realms of anthropology and aesthetics, and initiated a new international dialogue forum with the Anthropological Journal or European Cultures, which she founded in 1990 together with Christian Giordano.</p
The Circle Closes
No full textIna Söllner was one of Schulz’s young sitters. As an adult person, she discovered in her autograph book a portrait of her mother, Ina, made by Schulz. The drawing called The King of Frogs [Żabi król] and a dedication referring to her mother sitting provoke the author to analyze her family connections with Schulz. Even though she does not remember her meeting with the artist, she reconstructs Schulz’s place in her biography and the circumstances under which they might have met
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