Tag: Ethics

Internet browsing is possible without becoming an advertising target. But AI firms use any online content available to train their systems. Now, resourceful designers in Amsterdam and Denmark are aiming to curb this practice with their new smart typeface. Machines read websites’ programming code, and in order for humans to decipher the intended content, the code is converted into...

Nosy smart home devices can be controlled. Free browsers and search engines collect huge amounts of data and create detailed profiles in order to benefit from targeted advertising. Which is why a California-based startup has developed alternatives for protecting users’ private spheres. Their software neither saves search queries nor connects them to the user account. Search results are free...

Training AI systems requires less and less energy. At the same time modern AI tools are getting more efficient at creating deepfakes, making impersonations appear real. Now a German startup has developed an AI platform which detects manipulation in media data. The software, also hosted in Germany, combines different AI models. These check whether a face has been swapped,...

An app is inspiring children to read books. But as a non-profit organisation in the US has shown, books are also highly valuable in prisons. The organisation’s founder, a former prison resident himself for nine years, discovered how stories and books could provide perspective during his long stay in solitary confinement. In the meantime, the registered lawyer has been...

Some test animals do get a happy ending after all. Better still, a US research team wants to ensure animal testing can be bypassed in sustainable and cost-effective ways with the help of marine red seaweed, known as Pacific dulse. Following cleaning and drying of the seaweed the US team used an anionic surfactant to remove all its cells,...

Modern plasters leave no trace when treating chronic wounds. Unlike medication used to alleviate severe pain, which often contains addictive opioids. Which is why a biotechnology startup in France is focusing on developing painkillers without the addictive potential. The blueprint for future non-opioid drugs: the body’s own TAFA4 protein, which is secreted in response to touch, and normalises the...

A tattoo can help protect people from sexual assault. Whereas a non-profit organisation in Berlin is focusing on how to combat gender-based violence within relationships. The group’s app allows those affected to keep an incident log, which serves as proof in court proceedings. Additionally, information is available on different types of violence. For security reasons, details of the app,...

Placeholders can protect personal data from AI chatbots. So-called large language models provide the basis for established AI systems. Many of these were trained using all available online data - only some respect copyright laws. Now, a Swiss-based research team is focusing on only mining data that is publicly accessible and legally usable. 15 billion data units from 1,000+...