Texts & Media
Some thoughts I develop on stage, others at my desk, still others at the microphone. Here you’ll find a selection of my articles, interviews, and podcast appearances – to dive deeper, read more, keep listening.
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Four Reasons why Hyping AI is an Ethical Problem
Hyping AI creates ethical challenges on top of the existing ones. Here is how: 1. AI hype does not question the very purpose of AI. 2. AI hype is linked to misleading promises. 3. AI hype directs energy at something that is barely tangible. 4. AI hype exaggerates the capabilities of AI when effectively humans…
Fake it till You Make it: AI and Hype
The Algo 2020 conference invited me on a panel discussion titled “Fake it till you make it – AI and Hype”. My 4 key points: 1. AI hype does not question the very purpose of AI. 2. AI hype is linked to misleading promises. 3. AI hype directs energy at something that is barely tangible.…
There is no Responsible Tech without Accountability
There is a divide between those working on Responsible Tech inside companies and those criticizing from the outside. We need to bridge the two worlds, which requires more open-mindedness and the willingness to overcome potential prejudices. The back and forth between ‘ethics washing’ and ‘ethics bashing’ is taking up too much space.
Ethics in the Tech Industry: What makes it so Distinctive?
Kate O’Neill is a global thought leader, author, keynote speaker, strategic advisor, and “tech humanist”. We talked about connecting the dots between AI ethics, privacy, climate change, CSR, ESG, contact tracing, carbon offsetting and much more, including quite some laughter.
Business is there to Make Life Better. But How?
As part of his series “Interviews with global leaders in the field of Artificial Intelligence” I spoke with Johan Steyn about AI ethics, privacy, contact tracing, buiness ethics, CSR, etc. – live from my kitchen table.
Ethical Debates sparked by COVID: Thoughts at the UNESCO Forum
UNESCO Forum invited me as a speaker to share my thoughts on the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic has sparked fundamental ethical debates. Think of the terrifying reports from hospitals in Italy in Spring 2020. Intensive care units were overrun with patients. There were not enough ventilators. And suddenly we asked ourselves: What is the value…
Facial Recognition: Accuracy is not the Point
Facial recognition is flawed—but should we reject it because it’s inaccurate, or because it’s immoral? This post argues why moral arguments matter more than statistics when it comes to protecting our faces, our privacy, and our civil rights.
AI and Sustainability: a Solution or Part of the Problem?
Environmental sustainability is one of the most promising domains to deploy ‘AI for Good’. The environment is an excellent use case for collecting and analyzing data that help us to better understand and address key environmental challenges. In contrast to the use of AI in ‘human settings’, you typically don’t run into problems of privacy…
Pension Funds, Climate Change and the Value of Future Pensions
Climate youth have a long-term horizon – they have that in common with pension funds. Anyone who invests in companies that promote climate change is wilfully depreciating the value of pensions.
Linking Digitalization to Ethics: a Simple Outline of Some Foundations
It shouldn’t take a scandal of the dimensions achieved by Facebook/ Cambridge Analytica to make it clear that we must not use technology blindly without asking ourselves some ethical questions, but incidents like these certainly help to raise awareness on an ever broader scale. Yet, despite an increasing amount of articles calling for integrating ethics…
Why AI really needs Social Scientists
OpenAI states that in order to assure a rigorous design and implementation of this experiment, they need social scientists from a variety of disciplines. The title immediately caught my attention given that the kind of “AI ethics” I am dealing with hinges on an interdisciplinary approach to AI. So, I sat down and spent a…
ESG in Pension Funds needs Reflection, Passion and a Mission
As a regular listener at panel discussions on ESG, I became aware that institutional investors often lack reflection, passion and mission on the topic of ESG. IPE.com wrote an article about this.
Camembert or Pie Charts – Why AI Translation Fails
Camembert or pie charts? AI recognizes patterns but misses meaning. What seems funny on Duolingo becomes troubling when machines judge where humans should understand.
Sustainability under Pressure: From Hype to Backlash
From hype to backlash: what remains of the sustainability promise that was once so hot and suddenly seems to be gone? A critical take on compliance fatigue, culture war dynamics, and strategic recalibration.
A secret AI study. A biometric orb. A new internet ID.
After researchers sparked outrage with a secret AI experiment on Reddit, the platform considers adopting Sam Altman’s World ID system via a device called the Orb. But is biometric identity the solution, or just another dubious business model?
How AI Hijacks Human Connection
AI doesn’t just train on academic or artistic content. Increasingly, it feeds on blogs, guides, and independent journalism; any content that shows human care, credibility, or craft. Summarized and displayed in search results, this content becomes invisible at the source. Welcome to a world where creators are reduced to training fodder.
Why Human Learning Is Not Machine Learning
Machines improve performance. Humans seek meaning. This piece explores why learning is more than optimization – and what we lose when we confuse adaptation with transformation.
The Myth of AI Democratization
Some still believe that training large language models (LLMs) on copyrighted content is a form of “democratizing knowledge.” But when you look closely at how these models actually handle the material they ingest, the picture looks a lot less heroic – and a lot more extractive.
Meta’s Silent Swallowing of My Academic Legacy
My academic legacy? A monograph, a handful of articles—and now a starring role in training Meta’s Llama 3. No royalties. No citations. Just silent swallowing by a machine. A story of vanishing recognition in the age of AI.
Premature compliance or belated authenticity?
Diversity once made it into glossy reports. Now it’s quietly shelved. Not because it must be, but because it’s easier that way. So what happens to values when they become inconvenient?
Klarna’s AI Whiplash: From Job Cuts to Human Epiphanies
From “AI can do all jobs” to “Humans are invaluable!”: Klarna’s AI journey is a masterclass in hype whiplash. But behind the cringe, the CEO’s rhetoric surfaces real ethical tensions. What happens when honesty about AI and jobs is no longer whispered in executive suites – but shouted?
Predicting Personality from Faces? Bad Science, Worse Ethics
Some say facial recognition and AI can assess your potential by analyzing your face. But what seems like innovation may be pseudoscience at scale – and a threat to privacy, fairness, and human rights.
Keeping AI Weird (for Safety Reasons)
AI makes mistakes differently from humans. And that’s a good thing. This post explores why we shouldn’t train machines to fail like humans and why weirdness might be an important safety feature of AI.
AI: Lessons from Business Ethics
When it comes to business ethics, AI companies ignore the most basic concepts linked to accountability, supply chain responsibility and product safety. Yes, AI companies create groundbreaking innovation. But that comes with the responsibility to ensure that what they do serves humanity, not the other way around.
AI as an Inevitable Necessity? Let’s Not Go There
AI as an inevitable constraint? No. In conversation with Nina Benoit about liberalized markets, the failed promise of democratization, and why AI needs standards rather than special treatment – just like any other technology.
AI in publishing: Bridging gaps, upholding values
AI in publishing was the topic of a debate, organized by Wiley. How should publishers respond to advances of Big Tech? How can AI make research more accessible? And do we really need to reinvent the wheel when talking about accountability in the age of AI?
Podcasts – My Thoughts on Air
Hosts from all over the world invite me to share my thoughts on ethics, artificial intelligence, data protection, sustainability or my personal career. Podcasts are a great opportunity to present my views and convictions in a structured and understandable manner. Every single one of these conversations has been an eye-opener for myself as well.
AI and Democracy – a Complicated Relationship
Johannes Castner asked me about my opinion on the intersection between AI and democracy. In a nutshell, I’d say: “Keep the two apart from each other.”
Big Tech and AI Ethicists — a Duty to Engage?
If we have a choice: do we want to have Big Tech at the table when discussing regulation, or do we want them to lobby behind closed doors? I argue for the latter. We have a duty to engage.
No one likes to talk about Ethics. I show that Ethics can be Fun
Here is how I developed from a primary school feminist protesting against handicraft lessons for girls, to a rebellious anticapitalist teenager in high school, to a bored business administration student in the 1990ies, into who I am today.
The EU regulation on AI makes ethics affordable
What does the EU draft regulation on AI mean for companies? Will they see it as a burden or do they embrace it as meaningful guidance? I was invited to a short podcast on my views on these matters.
Privacy Violations create Irreversible Damage. There is no Compensation Scheme for Data Leaks.
In the year 2021, after countless shitstorms about privacy violations, after Cambridge Analytica, at the same time as people leave Whatsapp because they disagree with their new privacy, Clubhouse comes to Europe with a business model that disregards any legal and ethical considerations, and they are successful.
Is there Business Ethics in Clubhouse?
What can AI ethics learn from business ethics? What’s the ethics of Clubhouse, if any? Is the Robinhood app undermining free will? And how can tech companies create an ethical business culture? Listen to my thoughts in this interview.
TedX Zurich: AI – Freedom within, Freedom without
We praise AI for detecting patterns we can’t see. But how free are we if we stop thinking for ourselves? My TEDx talk explores what we risk when we delegate our judgment to machines.
AI is a Tool, not a Right. It’s not an End in Itself
“We might trust machines more than people when we communicate with them but this is dangerous because behind every machine there are the people that create it”. Just one of my statements from my lively talk with Kimberly Misquitta from Indian chatbot company Engati.
Fake it till You Make it: AI and Hype
The Algo 2020 conference invited me on a panel discussion titled “Fake it till you make it – AI and Hype”. My 4 key points: 1. AI hype does not question the very purpose of AI. 2. AI hype is linked to misleading promises. 3. AI hype directs energy at something that is barely tangible.…
On Teaching Artificial Intelligence & Ethics
The Montreal AI Ethics Institute interviewed me, along with my ForHumanity colleagues Merve Hickok and Ryan Carrier, about our thoughts on teaching AI and ethics. I recommend keeping AI ethics as applied as possible and inspiring people to think about what that means for their own work experience.
Ethics is not just about Right or Wrong but mostly about Why
“People often feel uncomfortable talking about ethics. My mission is to enter a company, a classroom, a stage, and take away that unease”, I say in my interview with influencer marketing platform Onalytica.
There is no Responsible Tech without Accountability
There is a divide between those working on Responsible Tech inside companies and those criticizing from the outside. We need to bridge the two worlds, which requires more open-mindedness and the willingness to overcome potential prejudices. The back and forth between ‘ethics washing’ and ‘ethics bashing’ is taking up too much space.
AI and Sustainability: a Solution or Part of the Problem?
Environmental sustainability is one of the most promising domains to deploy ‘AI for Good’. The environment is an excellent use case for collecting and analyzing data that help us to better understand and address key environmental challenges. In contrast to the use of AI in ‘human settings’, you typically don’t run into problems of privacy…