Clara Milena Steiner completed a Master’s degree in ‘Media, Communication and Culture’ at the University of Klagenfurt and is now editor-in-chief of the Kärntner Kronen Zeitung. In this alumni portrait, she talks about her journey from political science to journalism, the link between her studies and editorial practice, and why accessible, regional journalism is more important than ever, particularly in times of information overload.

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

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

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

Daniela Jaramillo-Dent wins Best Seminar Award for outstanding teaching

Vortragsreihe: Wie Digitalisierung und Künstliche Intelligenz unsere Gesellschaft verändern

Michael Reiss successfully defended his cumulative dissertation  

New publications on Transhumanist Anthropocene, Content Creators and Chilling Effects

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

The introduction of Digital Tribulations, a series of intellectual interviews on the developments of digital sovereignty in Latin America, can be read here. The entire series can be found here.

The European Union is at it again, with regulations that not only threaten the privacy rights of Europeans but also set a dangerous global precedent due to the Brussels effect. On 9 July 2026, the European Parliament managed to extend “Chat Control 1.0,” a major exemption to European privacy laws that allows platforms to voluntarily scan private chats, despite the majority of MEPs voting against it. 

Lebanon is on the verge of creating a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Technology. The government has been pushing to advance the draft law quickly, but Parliament just decided to slow things down, referring the proposal to joint parliamentary committees for deeper review. 
We think that’s the right call, and we want to explain why.

Lebanon’s digital landscape has grown more volatile with every year of crisis. Financial collapse, a rise of disinformation, the spread of hate speech, and the ongoing pressures of instability have all left their mark on how people in Lebanon experience the internet. Several cases of disinformation have been documented by SMEX’s digital safety Helpdesk, highlighting the escalating online threats and increase in hate speech.

SkyCommons Observatory released, protecting our BrainCommons, a responsible AI chatbot, shared learnings at UN Big Data, preparing for the Open Technology Symposium, and more.
The post New frontiers for open knowledge – OKFN Newsletter July 2026 first appeared on Open Knowledge Blog.

After reading about, experiencing and analysing the current technical and regulatory landscape of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and speaking with technologists, policy makers, legal scholars, and data experts, we encapsulated our learnings into eight recommendations for how to shape the ‘tech we want’ for our brain commons. Share your feedback with us here.  1. Understand the...

Governments around the world are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve policymaking. But when and how they should be used has become the subject of much debate.
Recently, the matter came to the fore when South Africa’s draft national artificial intelligence (AI) policy had to be withdrawn after it was found that the reference list included fictitious sources.