Avatar.fm
CPDP.ai 2024
Avatar.fm CPDP.ai 2024
Avatar.fm gives a voice to the young and new generation of privacy, data protection, AI, and computer scientist heads, Avatar.fm amplifies stories and testimonials of students, junior researchers and activists in the form of ‘Console Talks’ and ‘Interludes’.
Avatar.fm is coördinated by Birte Vingerhoets & Ferre Vander Elst
Wednesday 22/05/24
12:00 - 14:00
14:00 - 14:15
Console Talk: Biometric Mass Surveillance - by Chaos Computer Club
Speaker: Khaleesi
In this Console Talk, we introduce the audience to the Chaos Computer Club. Although it was founded over 40 Years ago and has been fighting for the promotion of privacy, freedom of information, and many other digital rights, its values are vastly unknown to many activists in the privacy scene. Beyond that, we shed light on the issue of biometric mass surveillance, both theoretically and through a practical/ technical lens. Since ideas regarding the collection and use of biometric data came around, we’ve been telling politicians that biometric data is always a ticking time bomb. After several years of hacking biometric systems, we have been able to prove it repeatedly.
14:30
Andy Sanchez, Ph.D. is the Senior Researcher in Media, Technology, & Society for the Sustainable Media Lab at Inholland University in The Hague. Applying his backgrounds in chemical engineering and creative writing, he uses cross-disciplinary comparisons to illuminate challenges at the intersection of ethics, policy, and human-centric digitalization. He is currently leading an cross-sector traveling research exhibition to build digital literacy ahead of the 2024 EU Parliamentary elections called, fabricated: Unravel Fact from Fiction in Your Digital World. He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Science Policy & Governance.
14:30 - 16:00
16:00 - 16:15
Console Talk: Algorithms of Trauma - by Panoptykon
Speaker: Katarzyna Szymielewicz
We want to tell you the story of Joanna, an ordinary Facebook user, whose weaknesses were exploited by algorithms. Together with her we embarked on a journey of testing Facebook control buttons. You will hear an excerpt from the special episode of Panoptykon’s podcast that was released as a way to promote our findings and the knowledge on how Facebook algorithms work among broader audience.
Spoiler alert: it’s not a very optimistic story. And it’s best to listen to it in a calm environment. So just grab your coffee, find yourself some comfortable place to sit and give Joanna 10 minutes of your undivided attention.
16:15 - 18:00
17:00 - 17:15
Console Talk: On Hidden Power - by Privacy Salon
Speakers: Vladan Joler, Birte Vingerhoets, Ferre Vander Elst
Central to the AI-driven technologies that are the instruments of what is often called our surveillance society is the notion of classification. The statistical methods that are used to classify give power to the numbers. They kill everything that is not a majority. If we would look at this as an ideology, it is a very populist totalitarian tool, which doesn’t value minorities. The question arises: Is there any possibility for an ethical mathematical statistical model for AI-driven technologies? Together with Vladan Joler we dive into a fifteen minute Console Talk regarding the implications of the hidden power dynamics.
18:00 - 18:15
Console Talk: Writing a Data Protection Complaint - by NOYB
Speakers: Emma Cirpka, Massimiliano Gelmi
This Console Talk is a conversation between a legal trainee and a data protection lawyer both working at noyb discussing working in the field of data protection law, the switch from a trainee to a junior position, and writing your own data protection complaint as a lawyer. We delve deeper into how to start writing your first complaint, what elements are important for a successful complaint and what happens next. If you are interested in data protection law and you are at the start of your career, this is the talk for you!
18:15 - 19:00
Thursday 23/05/24
12:00 - 14:00
14:00 - 14:15
Console Talk: Sci-fi & Information Law by IViR & DigiCon
Speakers: Kimon Kieslich, Andy Neale, Leevi Saari
In the Console Talk, we introduce the “Science Fiction & Information Law” writing competition and its goals. We invite some of our finalists and ask them to present excerpts from their stories as well as the underlying themes of their stories. The discussion provides a first glimpse into the creativity of their stories and invite the audience to participate in the ceremony and to think about the fruitful connection between information law and science fiction.
14:30
Judith Blijden is a legal philosopher based in The Netherlands. Her aim is to raise awareness and understanding about the impact of technology by translating information into creative and inspiring story telling productions. Her first production: the Digital Period tells the story about what happens behind the user interface of period tracking apps.
14:30 - 16:00
15:15
Interlude: Michele Carlo Tripeni
Michele C. Tripeni is a student of the International Master Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies and a researcher at the University of Glasgow's Games and Gaming Lab. As part of his research, he investigates human bias towards AI systems in decision-making for security and intelligence. He is currently setting up an experiment to measure automation bias in security related decisions. At CPDP.AI he was part of The Security Distillery team covering the conference, as one of the think tank's administrators.
16:00 - 16:15
Console Talk: Pay or Okay? - by Privacy Salon
Speakers: Itxaso Dominguez, Judith Blijden, Lotje Beek
In November 2023, Meta introduced a new model termed “pay or okay” or “pay or consent.” Under this model, customers are presented with the choice of accessing services for free if they grant consent for Meta to process their private data. Alternatively, they can opt for a subscription-based model, wherein Meta refrains from processing their data in exchange for payment. How does this comply with the GDPR: the EU’s data privacy regulation?
16:30
Interlude: Bianca Kremer & Felipe Silva
Last year Bianca & Felipe filed a lawsuit against the city of San Paolo for the implementation of more than 20.000 surveillance cameras. They recently won the Epic Award with their campaign ‘Tire Meu Rosto da Sua Mira’, which is a call for a general ban of Facial Recognition Technologies in the Brazilian Public Security field.
16:30 - 18:00
17:15
Interlude: Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal
Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal focuses on data protection and privacy, commercial and state surveillance, and the role of security forces in content moderation. She has prior experience working at 7amleh, an organisation dedicated to defending Palestinian digital rights. Her professional background encompasses various roles, including positions at the European Parliament and the European Delegation to Egypt. Additionally, she is a researcher, collaborating with think tanks and engaging with academia on issues related to global politics from a critical perspective.
18:00 - 18:15
Console Talk: Hacking, History & Privacy by Vecna
Speakers: Vecna, Fukami
One of the reasons the modern digital privacy ecosystem is what it is now is the hacking scene in the late nineties. The cypherpunk (not to be confused with cyberpunk) was a fringe, anarco-libertarian culture that inspired concepts we now take for granted, such as peer-to-peer, end-to-end encryption, and cryptocurrency. These have been part of a constant technopolitical war since.
18:15 - 19:00
Live set: Ben Bertrand
Friday 24/05/24
12:00 - 14:00
14:00 - 14:15
Console Talk: The future of Privacy & AI - by The Security Distillery
Speakers: Chiara Cerisola, Dolores García , Susanna Gervasoni, Jan Ellerman
The Console Talk of The Security Distillery consists primarily of a discussion with Jan Ellerman, senior expert at Europol. This conversation is moderated by Susanna Gervasoni, Dolores García, and Chiara Cerisola. They look at how policies must adapt to overcome the rapid technological changes of recent years. The Security Distillery combines its experience with academic research with the expertise of those involved in the field and have experienced the changes first-hand.
14:20
When she is not working as a data protection and privacy manager, Drea moves crowds with her world-renowned poetry recitals.
14:30
Interlude: Nicolas Thiel Bianco
Nicolas is a Master student at Université Toulouse Capitole, where he does research in the fields of AI, personal data protection (GDPR), cyber security, e-commerce and intellectual property.
14:30 - 16:00
15:15
Chiara is the EU Policy Associate at Access Now (an international NGO dedicated to defending and extending digital rights globally). As the lead on Access Now’s EU privacy and data protection initiatives, Chiara’s work focuses on advocating for the proper enforcement of the GDPR, the landmark data protection regulation. Aiming to enable and empower individuals to reclaim control over their data and enjoy their rights, she actively participates in the ongoing debate on Pay or Consent models and she defends people's rights in the Proposed GDPR Procedural Regulation.
Her advocacy extends to digital rights in data transfer agreements. Recently, she tackled, together with other NGOs, the EU Commission’s decision, taken in January 2024, to reconfirm Israel’s adequacy status for data protection, highlighting alarming concerns.
16:00 - 16:15
Console Talk: Reclaiming Digital Agency - by CODE
Speakers: Philine Kreuzer, Gema Fernández-Blanco Martín, Amber Macintyre
For Avatar FM Philine Kreuzer (IMPAKT) and CODE participants Gema Fernández-Blanco Martín and Amber Macintyre discuss artistic and societal responses to growing concerns that we are losing agency over the digital tools and platforms we use on a daily basis.
16:15 - 18:00
17:00 - 17:15
Console Talk: Surveillance & Oppression - by Mais Qandeel
Speakers: Mais Qandeel, Birte Vingerhoets, Ferre Vander Elst
New technologies are being used as a tool of oppression in Palestine, including the use of AI-based facial recognition, automated weapons and ICTs. What is the situation of digital rights under Israeli military occupation and what role does the use of AI play in this power play? In addition, how do social media platforms play a role in the Palestinian context? Mais Qandeel shares her research on digital rights and surveillance in Palestine and stresses that European discussion of privacy, data protection and surveillance must cover contexts of conflicts and military oppression.
18:00 - 18:15
Console Talk: Fashion Police Drones - by Artificial Nouveau
Speakers: Ahnjili ZhuParris, Birte Vingerhoets, Ferre Vander Elst
The Fashion Police Drones, armed with custom fashion recognition algorithms, will track individuals based on audience-defined criteria for “fashion crimes”. Through this interactive experience, the work challenges conventional perspectives about drone and AI applications, sparking discussions about the evolving landscape of surveillance and the ethical use of AI-driven technologies in our contemporary world. ‘Fashion Police Drones’ aims to trigger the audience’s curiosity about the boundaries of surveillance, the potential consequences of automation in military application and law enforcement, and the societal implications of cultural profiling.