Katharina Hone's blog

In the debates surrounding the sustainable development goals (SDGs), a huge emphasis has been placed on having the right kind of data in working towards the global goals. We are encouraged to ‘measure what we treasure’ to achieve the 2030 development agenda and to have appropriate policies in place.

Last Friday, the German newspaper Die Zeit organised its third Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference. I was born in Germany and have just moved back after a nine-year stint in Great Britain, so I went to get my first direct impression of the country’s relationship to AI and to hear debates about digital politics in general.

Many teachers use global literature to teach cultural and moral sensitivity and a global understanding of peace and wars. Yet the use of Arab and Jewish literature by teachers in the formation of attitudes is still vague.

In May 2017, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark appointed the World's first 'tech ambassador' to Silicon Valley. 

The tech industry of the US California Bay Area has an unprecedented impact on the digital world. In addition to the technological advancements, it affects the economy, policy, and society, and engages with people worldwide. Technology is becoming synonymous with issues of security, protection of human rights of citizens, ensuring the stability of the future development of individual nation states by staying on the forefront of technological advancement, and anticipating its policy implications.

News of a fatal crash involving a prototype self-driving Uber car and a pedestrian recently made tech headlines across the world. The incident, which took place in Arizona in March this year, marks the first casualty from an autonomous vehicle.

In the USA, the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act) is proposing to establish a new framework for authorities to access data stored abroad and thus amend the Stored Communications Act (SCA). We look at the salient features of the bill, and its implications.

Microsoft has acknowledged that ‘the world needs new international rules to protect the public from nation state threats in cyberspace, and that ‘in short, the world needs a Digital Geneva Convention’.

As fast as digital technologies have developed, means have been found to exploit their vulnerabilities. Accordingly, states have found a new ground for geopolitical meddling in cyberspace. Whereas legislative measures for addressing cyber-criminality were developed quickly, the willingness of states to engage in discussions on how to regulate their own behaviour in cyberspace has been less forceful.