Other News from Participating Centers

From Chaos to Order: A Workshop with ODE to Uncomplicate Data in Brazil

The three-hour online session focused on teaching the fundamentals of data usage and quality to professionals from various fields with different levels of familiarity with open data.
The post From Chaos to Order: A Workshop with ODE to Uncomplicate Data in Brazil first appeared on Open Knowledge Blog.

What building the first Sandbox Summer School taught me about the field we’re trying to build

By Sophie Tomlinson, Director of Programs, Datasphere Initiative

When we first imagined the Sandbox Summer School, we weren’t sure exactly who would show up.

We had a strong sense of the need. Around the world, interest in sandboxes was growing. Policymakers were experimenting. Civic technologists were asking questions. Think tanks and funders were paying attention. But no program existed to help those people connect and build practical knowledge together.

So we created one. And then we waited.

40th Nordic Conference on Law and IT – Regulating for Complexity

The 40th Nordic Conference on Law and IT, marking an incredible milestone in advancing legal scholarship and practice in the Nordic region will take place in Oslo on Nov 6-7 2025.

Source and more information: https://www.jus.uio.no/ifp/om/organisasjon/seri/arrangementer/2025/xxxx-nordic-conference-on-law-and-it.html

AI resistance: Who says no to AI and why?

This article shows how resisting AI systems means more than protest. It's a way to challenge power structures and call for more democratic governance.
The post AI resistance: Who says no to AI and why? appeared first on HIIG.

Closed reading rooms on August 21 & 22

Due to our annual deep cleaning, we regret to inform you that our reading rooms will be closed on two days in August as follows:
August 21: Reading rooms on level 2 (central wing + cube) closed
The staircase will remain open: You can access and use level 3 as usual.
August 22: Level 3 completely closed
 
We look forward to your visit!
Best regards from the library
 
 

Gleichstellung: Spitzenbewertungen für die JMU

Die Gleichstellungsarbeit an der Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) trägt erneut Früchte, wie die jetzt vorgestellte neueste Ausgabe des CEWS-Rankings nach Gleichstellungsaspekten zeigt. Mit der Eingruppierung in Ranggruppe 4 von insgesamt 12 steht die JMU mit an der Spitze der bayerischen Universitäten im Bereich der Gleichstellung.

Nexos: La IA y el nuevo orden mundial

Nexos: La IA y el nuevo orden mundial

The algorithm thinks you’re rich. Prepare to pay more for that flight.

Früherer Unikanzler Bruno Forster verstorben

Immer eine Fliege zum Anzug statt einer Krawatte: Das war nur der Accessoires, die Bruno Forster unverwechselbar machten. Der 1941 in Weiden geborene Oberpfälzer war von 1992 bis 2006 Kanzler der Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg. Auch noch im Ruhestand brachte er sich mit großem Engagement gesellschaftlich ein – für die Universität und ihre Alumniarbeit, aber auch für das Mainfranken Theater Würzburg. Im Alter von 84 Jahren ist Bruno Forster nun am 7. August 2025 in Würzburg verstorben.

Library closed on August 15

aau_ubOn August 15 the University Library stays closed.
Please register in good time – 24 hours in advance of your use – for the 24/7 library to use our reading rooms and media stacks all around the clock as usual.
We look forward to your visit!
 
Our opening hours in August:
Mo – Fr: 8.30 am – 12.00 am
Sa/So: closed

Mit Gecko-Technik den Weltraum entrümpeln

1957 schickte die ehemalige Sowjetunion den ersten Satelliten in den Weltraum. Auf Sputnik 1 folgten seitdem an die 20.000 weitere. Während der Pionier beim nur wenige Monate später erfolgten Wiedereintritt in die Erdatmosphäre verglühte, verbleiben viele seiner Nachfolger auch weit nach ihrem Dienstende als Weltraumschrott in der Erdumlaufbahn.

The Drift to Digital: Cashlessness, CBDCs and the Narratives We Need

The Drift to Digital: Cashlessness, CBDCs and the Narratives We Need

Brett Scott in an interview with Caroline Marburger

21 August 2025

Cash is disappearing — not with a bang, but with the quiet hum of terminals, apps, and silent payment flows. Brett Scott argues that there is a systemic drift toward cashlessness, shaped not by a single decision-maker but by the forces of global capitalism. Still, the shift is often narrated as a matter of consumer choice.

Meet the fellows: Mariam Al-Shafei Fellowship on Technology and Human Rights 2024

For the year 2024, SMEX welcomed four non-resident fellows for the Mariam Al-Shafei Fellowship on Technology and Human Rights, committed to working on the following topics:

Tagesspiegel Background – Gastbeitrag über die Potenziale von Data Spaces

In ihrem Gastbeitrag „Data Spaces sind keine Selbstläufer“ in der Rubrik Standpunkte des Tagesspiegel Background erklären Professor Thomas Hess, Mitglied im bidt-Direktorium und Professor für Wirtschaftsinformatik und Betriebswirtschaftslehre an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, und Dr. Christoph Egle, Geschäftsführer des bidt, wie sich der zwischenbetriebliche Datenaustausch über Data Spaces  gestalten lässt.

[Announcement] Open Data Editor 1.6.0 AI-enhanced Version Release

We are glad to announce today the release of ODE's new version. The app is now evolving into a key companion tool in the early and critical stages of your AI journey.
The post [Announcement] Open Data Editor 1.6.0 AI-enhanced Version Release first appeared on Open Knowledge Blog.

Join our team: Research Fellow, Global Tech Policy & AI Regulation

Location: Remote or hybrid, depending on your location.
Commitment: Part-time 
Duration: September 2025 – March 2026 
Compensation: Negotiable. 

Der Vertrauensbegriff in der interdisziplinären Forschung zur Mensch-KI-Interaktion

Seit dem Aufschwung von ChatGPT im Jahr 2022 hat generative KI Einzug in zahlreiche Anwendungsbereiche gefunden: In Sekundenschnelle kann generative KI Text, Audio, Bild und Video generieren und möglicherweise unterschiedliche Anwendungsgebiete revolutionieren – seien es KI-generierte Nachrichten im Journalismus oder im politischen Wahlkampf, als Tutor für das Aneignen von Programmierkenntnissen oder als Designhilfe von 3D-Entwürfen. Eine globale Studie von Gillespie et al.

Parental Consent: A Conundrum for Online Child Safety

Analysing India’s data protection law and its attempt at protecting children and their data This post is authored by Jhalak M. Kakkar, Shashank Mohan, and Angelina Dash. India’s data privacy law, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), seeks to protect children’s data and shield them from data-linked online harms. However, two years after […]

SMEX’s Digital Safety Helpdesk Updates: Summer 2025

Women, minorities, and human rights defenders among the most targeted onlineSMEX’s Digital Safety Helpdesk supports activists, journalists, marginalized groups, and human rights defenders facing cybersecurity incidents and online threats in West Asia and North Africa. We work directly with affected individuals  to address account suspensions, doxxing, sexual blackmail, and other forms of cyberviolence, content moderation, and other issues.

Robots gain new function: algorithm automatically recognises sensors and their mathematical modelling

Justlight/Adobestock (KI generated)Robots need localisation algorithms to figure out where they are. These algorithms usually work with sensor data, which can be used to calculate their position. For engineers and researchers, figuring out how a sensor is built, what format the sensor data is in, and how the sensor is calibrated on a robot can be quite a challenge.