Code and Conscience

Due to technological advances, AI systems, among them facial recognition, are becoming more commonplace, a development which garners ethical and privacy-related concerns and has prompted the European Commission to develop the proposed AI Act of 2021. This study investigates whether current legislation, including the proposed AI Act, is enough to properly regulate the use of facial recognition systems in public spaces in the European Union. To this purpose, we outline the current status of EU legislation regarding these systems, examine several case studies of real-world use of such systems and the response thereto, and identify overarching ethical and legal issues that arise from these case studies. We find that currently, the ambiguous phrasing in the proposed legislation, combined with lack of enforcement of the need for consent, means that legislation is not sufficient to regulate the use of facial recognition in public spaces in the European Union. Therefore, based on the observations from the case studies, we make several recommendations that, when followed, encourage the use of facial recognition systems in public spaces in an ethical, legal and responsible way.

In this paper, we look at the latest developments in the field of online virtual realities, with particular focus on “metaverses”. Within this field, we aim to describe potential interactions with emotion recognition and manipulation technologies. The article points out how these technologies can generate new threats to human and individual rights. Moreover, it covers how already existing uses of these technologies can become increasingly worrying in the context of metaverses. Finally, we look at existing legal and technical protections; we focus on their success and their shortcomings and how they can be improved in order to adapt to these new technologies. Our research question was: how can emotion recognition and manipulation technology be used and/or abused in the context of a metaverse?

Facial Recognition Technologies (FRT) have the potential to be prevalent in society. Being constantly exposed to such technology could have an impact on the individual and collective behaviour of individuals and society as a whole. In this paper, we try to explore the terrain of the history of surveillance and its modern form in places like China to set the context and introduce current technologies. Later, we explore the possible ways the society could change if they were under constant observation by the FRT and what dangers can arise over time.

The importance of political micro-targeting is undeniable. One of the main points of democracy is to have a political discourse that helps in the advancement of ideas and the exchange of values. An important part of enhancing the protection of political discourse is the protection of the freedom of speech.

Ever since the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, the role of social media companies in our public life has been under constant scrutiny. The everyday life of almost every member of our society is facilitated, shaped and influenced by the AI algorithms of social media companies. They shape public opinion by ranking and ordering each user’s content and information [46].

The ever-rising danger of social bots spreading disinformation about stock markets and the coordinated usage of mass misinformation tactics in social media can create conditions for malicious groups to manipulate market values and investor behaviors in weak positions. Several studies have proposed approaches to dealing with disinformation escalated by modern technologies, and regulatory bodies need to absorb the lessons given. In this paper, we will discuss the problem of disinformation in finance and the role of social bots. To have a birds-eye view of the most prominent topics in the academic literature, we conduct a topic modeling analysis to depict broad patterns, e.g., the connectivity between subjects and their topicality. Subsequently, we provide some thoughts and directions on what new regulations might require considering to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of regulatory actions. As a result, we consider a number of broad and interdisciplinary implications of financial and ethical regulations.

Today, the data ecosystem is so technically advanced and embedded in our daily lives that everything we do generates value for multiple stakeholders in the data economy. This overlapping of technology, economy, and society makes it incumbent upon national and pan-European authorities to safeguard often conflicting interests of all stakeholders in the best interest of all. However, unfortunately, the laws and regulations may be imposed, but are often not followed in their genuine sense. The underlying reasons include, amongst others, the absence of apt (technical and organizational) solutions and knowledgeable, well-equipped oversight bodies. This paper examines the implication of FACT principles, FAIR principles, and Open Personal Data Stores for (potential) novel pathways for an ethical data economy. For clarity, the research work comprises three dimensions, namely ethical (from the individuals’ perspective), economic (from the enterprises’ perspective), and legal (focusing on the informed data collection perspective). For evaluation, the literature review and content analysis are performed in each dimension, and recommendations are presented for efficient and effective ethics inclusion in today’s data economy. The research will facilitate the concerned authorities and key stakeholders in implementing recommendations for an improved ethical data economy.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a bigger part of the daily lives of today’s generation. However, it is still debated how AI applications affect children when they interact with them from an early age. Parents, children and society as a whole benefit when childcare practices lead to healthy outcomes later in life. However, for many (possible) AI applications in childcare, it is unclear if their effects promote positive outcomes for children or not. Therefore, the authors research the current degree of responsibility in the deployment of AI in childcare. Responsible AI applications should be safe, accepted, trusted, and closely aligned with human values, and in this case, ensure that the effects of AI on children’s development are overwhelmingly positive. The authors give a broad overview of the current home, education, and healthcare AI applications while keeping the social and emotional effects in mind. To analyze if these AI applications are designed and implemented in a responsible way, the guidelines of Floridi et al. were used to investigate where improvements in current and future applications can be made. This assessment does not cover all human rights and ethical perspectives on AI. Nevertheless, it focuses on the responsibility of AI application implementation and in what way guardians, teachers, and medical practitioners should incorporate it into childcare.

Hiring processes have been in artificial intelligence and statistics. In the past years there has been an increasing number of digital solutions that can support the hiring processes. These new solutions claim objectivity and deduction of human biases from the recruiting process. This paper presents the current state of intelligent machine hiring systems by analysing two real use cases. From the use cases, the concerns and setbacks of the systems are highlighted showing that the technology need further growth before it can be considered impartial.

This paper examines the challenges surrounding the implementation of autonomous tractors in German agriculture. Germany, a pioneer in precision agriculture, has yet to fully utilize autonomous driving technology for tractors due to legal, technical, and ethical obstacles. While advanced autonomous tractors are being developed, legal barriers and concerns about job losses and social inequalities hinder their adoption. Future research should explore these issues through a structured literature review. To unlock the potential of autonomous tractors in improving productivity and efficiency, German institutions must address ethical concerns and adapt policies to maintain their leadership in digital agriculture.