“Artificial Intelligence” in Switzerland 2024: Rapid Diffusion and Increasing Digital Inequality

New publications on techno-religion, human augmentation technologies, internet use in Switzerland

Vortragsreihe: Wie Digitalisierung und Künstliche Intelligenz unsere Gesellschaft verändern

Daniela Jaramillo-Dent wins Best Seminar Award for outstanding teaching

Generative AI is Taking Over Everyday Life in Switzerland: From Experimentation to Regular Use

Michael Reiss successfully defended his cumulative dissertation  

Two Awards at SACM 2025 for the Media Change and Innovation Division

Internet Use as Everyday Religion on the Rise, Cyborgization Still in its Early Stages

Kiran Kappeler successfully defended her dissertation

AI Learning Labs, RightsCon, knowledge commons as critical digital infrastructure, Open Technology Research, and more.
The post Learning together, building together – OKFN Newsletter April 2026 first appeared on Open Knowledge Blog.

On April 16, The Datasphere Initiative hosted a new Global Sandboxes Forum (GSF) Insights Session focused on business engagement in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Sandboxes. Aiming to foster a rich debate with insights regarding corporate participation in sandboxes, the event brought together sandbox specialists, representatives from the private sector, ranging from Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, to major industry players such as Mastercard and Nubank.

Now on its 16th edition, Wiki Loves Monuments still retains its crown as the world’s largest photo contest. Each year since 2010, photographers from around the globe have come together to celebrate cultural heritage through their camera lens—and donate it all to benefit Wikimedia’s freely shared knowledge. 

I recently finished Joshua Gooch‘s Capitalism Hates You: Marxism and the New Horror Film, where the author looks at contemporary horror movies and argues that monsters work like mirrors. They reflect whatever sociopolitical anxiety is boiling underneath—economic precarity, environmental collapse, the feeling that the whole system wants you dead.

aau_ubThe University Library will be closed from 1 May to 3 May 2026 due to the public holiday on first May.
 
The 24/7 library will be open as usual. Please register for this service in good time if you wish to use the reading rooms or the open stacks next weekend.
 
We look forward to seeing you at the library!

Our team and network will discuss pressing issues such as reimagining AI, experiencing brain-computer interfaces, leveraging digital public goods, and more; check the full agenda
The post Join Open Knowledge at RightsCon 2026, Zambia first appeared on Open Knowledge Blog.

Le CRDP vous invite à participer au colloque « Les 10 ans du code de procédure civile : l’épreuve du réel ». Le colloque s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un premier forum consultatif tenu par le Comité Institution judiciaire, procédure civile et justice participative pour la réalisation des États généraux de la justice.
 
Date : 15 mai 2026
Lieu :  Faculté de droit, A-3464, Salon François-Chevrette
Heure : 8H45 – 16H

On March 13, thousands of leaflets dropped over Beirut. At the bottom sat QR codes A month later, the question remains: why would a military drop QR codes for people to scan? Were they malicious? And what were they actually trying to collect? 

I believe they were after metadata.

Studierende lassen Experi­ment mit Höhen­forschungs­ballon steigen - Preis für Informatikerin Borrmann - JMU für Gleich­stellung ausgezeichnet - Programm für ausländische Gäste - Liturgie der Zukunft

In January 2026, the internet celebrated the 25th anniversary of Wikipedia, the original workhorse behind third-grade papers on giant squids and fourth-place social studies projects. Much like students debating the academic integrity of enlisting generative AI for their work today, it was once difficult to abstain from using Wikipedia articles as a source. After all, right at our fingertips were over 7 million articles in plainly written English, summarizing even the most complex, niche, and fraught subjects.
 

Always online – for many, this is increasingly the norm. When we’re offline, something’s gone wrong; we’re in a dead spot. This limits our options, including our ability to make payments. In areas with no network coverage, we have to pay with cash – if we have any. Now, offline functions aim to enable digital payments without network access. How is this supposed to work? Why does it make sense? Who is championing this and who thinks it’s impossible? This is the focus of episode 3 of the third season of Digitalgelddickicht on the topic of ‘Secure Money’.