AI is supercharging war. Could it also help broker peace?

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Tina Amirtha: “Can we measure what is in our hearts and minds, and could it help us end wars any sooner? These are the questions that consume entrepreneur Shawn Guttman, a Canadian émigré who recently gave up his yearslong teaching position in Israel to accelerate a path to peace—using an algorithm.

Living some 75 miles north of Tel Aviv, Guttman is no stranger to the uncertainties of conflict. Over the past few months, miscalculated drone strikes and imprecise missile targets—some intended for larger cities—have occasionally landed dangerously close to his town, sending him to bomb shelters more than once.

“When something big happens, we can point to it and say, ‘Right, that happened because five years ago we did A, B, and C, and look at its effect,’” he says over Google Meet from his office, following a recent trip to the shelter. Behind him, souvenirs from the 1979 Egypt-Israel and 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaties are visible. “I’m tired of that perspective.”

The startup he cofounded, Didi, is taking a different approach. Its aim is to analyze data across news outlets, political discourse, and social media to identify opportune moments to broker peace. Inspired by political scientist I. William Zartman’s “ripeness” theory, the algorithm—called the Ripeness Index—is designed to tell negotiators, organizers, diplomats, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) exactly when conditions are “ripe” to initiate peace negotiations, build coalitions, or launch grassroots campaigns.

During ongoing U.S.-led negotiations over the war in Gaza, both Israel and Hamas have entrenched themselves in opposing bargaining positions. Meanwhile, Israel’s traditional allies, including the U.S., have expressed growing frustration over the war and the dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave, where the threat of famine looms.

In Israel, Didi’s data is already informing grassroots organizations as they strategize which media outlets to target and how to time public actions, such as protests, in coordination with coalition partners. Guttman and his collaborators hope that eventually negotiators will use the model’s insights to help broker lasting peace.

Guttman’s project is part of a rising wave of so-called PeaceTech—a movement using technology to make negotiations more inclusive and data-driven. This includes AI from Hala Systems, which uses satellite imagery and data fusion to monitor ceasefires in Yemen and Ukraine. Another AI startup, Remesh, has been active across the Middle East, helping organizations of all sizes canvas key stakeholders. Its algorithm clusters similar opinions, giving policymakers and mediators a clearer view of public sentiment and division.

A range of NGOs and academic researchers have also developed digital tools for peacebuilding. The nonprofit Computational Democracy Project created Pol.is, an open-source platform that enables citizens to crowdsource outcomes to public debates. Meanwhile, the Futures Lab at the Center for Strategic and International Studies built a peace agreement simulator, complete with a chart to track how well each stakeholder’s needs are met.

Guttman knows it’s an uphill battle. In addition to the ethical and privacy concerns of using AI to interpret public sentiment, PeaceTech also faces financial hurdles. These companies must find ways to sustain themselves amid shrinking public funding and a transatlantic surge in defense spending, which has pulled resources away from peacebuilding initiatives.

Still, Guttman and his investors remain undeterred. One way to view the opportunity for PeaceTech is by looking at the economic toll of war. In its Global Peace Index 2024, the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Vision of Humanity platform estimated that economic disruption due to violence and the fear of violence cost the world $19.1 trillion in 2023, or about 13 percent of global GDP. Guttman sees plenty of commercial potential in times of peace as well.

“Can we make billions of dollars,” Guttman asks, “and save the world—and create peace?” ..(More)”….See also Kluz Prize for PeaceTech (Applications Open)

2025 State of the Digital Decade

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by The European Commission: “…assessed the EU’s progress along the four target areas for the EU’s digital transformation by 2030, highlighting achievements and gaps in the areas of digital infrastructure, digitalisation of businesses, digital skills, and digitalisation of public service.

Digital Decade logo

The report shows that although there are certain advancements, the rollout of connectivity infrastructure, such as fibre and 5G stand-alone networks, is still lagging. More companies are adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud and big data, but adoption needs to accelerate. Just over half of Europeans (55.6%) have a basic level of digital skills, while the availability of ICT specialists with advanced skills remains low and with a stark gender divide, hindering progress in key sectors, such as cybersecurity and AI. In 2024, the EU made steady progress in digitalising key public services, but a substantial portion of governmental digital infrastructure continues to depend on service providers outside the EU.

The data shows persisting challenges, such as fragmented markets, overly complex regulations, security and strategic dependence. Further public and private investment and easier access to venture capital for EU companies would accelerate innovation and scale up…(More)”.

Generative AI Outlook Report

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Outlook report, prepared by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC): “…examines the transformative role of Generative AI (GenAI) with a specific emphasis on the European Union. It highlights the potential of GenAI for innovation, productivity, and societal change. GenAI is a disruptive technology due to its capability of producing human-like content at an unprecedented scale. As such, it holds multiple opportunities for advancements across various sectors, including healthcare, education, science, and creative industries. At the same time, GenAI also presents significant challenges, including the possibility to amplify misinformation, bias, labour disruption, and privacy concerns. All those issues are cross-cutting and therefore, the rapid development of GenAI requires a multidisciplinary approach to fully understand its implications. Against this context, the Outlook report begins with an overview of the technological aspects of GenAI, detailing their current capabilities and outlining emerging trends. It then focuses on economic implications, examining how GenAI can transform industry dynamics and necessitate adaptation of skills and strategies. The societal impact of GenAI is also addressed, with focus on both the opportunities for inclusivity and the risks of bias and over-reliance. Considering these challenges, the regulatory framework section outlines the EU’s current legislative framework, such as the AI Act and horizontal Data legislation to promote trustworthy and transparent AI practices. Finally, sector-specific ‘deep dives’ examine the opportunities and challenges that GenAI presents. This section underscores the need for careful management and strategic policy interventions to maximize its potential benefits while mitigating the risks. The report concludes that GenAI has the potential to bring significant social and economic impact in the EU, and that a comprehensive and nuanced policy approach is needed to navigate the challenges and opportunities while ensuring that technological developments are fully aligned with democratic values and EU legal framework…(More)”.

Protecting young digital citizens

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Blog by Pascale Raulin-Serrier: “…As digital tools become more deeply embedded in children’s lives, many young users are unaware of the long-term consequences of sharing personal information online through apps, games, social media platforms and even educational tools. The large-scale collection of data related to their preferences, identity or lifestyle may be used for targeted advertising or profiling. This affects not only their immediate online experiences but can also have lasting consequences, including greater risks of discrimination and exclusion. These concerns underscore the urgent need for stronger safeguards, greater transparency and a child-centered approach to data governance.

CNIL’s initiatives to promote children’s privacy

In response to these challenges, the CNIL introduced eight recommendations in 2021 to provide practical guidance for children, parents and other stakeholders in the digital economy. These are built around several key pillars to promote and protect children’s privacy:

1. Providing specific safeguards

Children have distinct digital rights and must be able to exercise them fully. Under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), they benefit from special protections, including the right to be forgotten and, in some cases, the ability to consent to the processing of their data.In France, children can only register for social networks or online gaming platforms if they are over 15, or with parental consent if they are younger. CNIL helps hold platforms accountable by offering clear recommendations on how to present terms of service and collect consent in ways that are accessible and understandable to children.

2. Balancing autonomy and protection

The needs and capacities of a 6-year-old child differ greatly from those of a 16-year-old adolescent. It is essential to consider this diversity in online behaviour, maturity and the evolving ability to make informed decisions. The CNIL emphasizes  the importance of offering children a digital environment that strikes a balance between protection and autonomy. It also advocates for digital citizenship education to empower young people with the tools they need to manage their privacy responsibly…(More)”. See also Responsible Data for Children.

European project to make web search more open and ethical

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

PressRelease: “The OpenWebSearch.eu consortium, which includes CERN, has released a pilot of the first federated, pan-European Open Web Index, paving the way for a new generation of unbiased and ethical search engines

Artistic map of Europe with search bars in different languages overlaid
(Image: openwebsearch.eu / using images by NASA (europe_dnb_2012_lrg.jpg), Unsplash (christopher-burns-dzejyfCAzIA-unsplash))

On 6 June, the OpenWebSearch.eu consortium released a pilot of a new infrastructure that aims to make European web search fairer, more transparent and commercially unbiased. With strong participation by CERN, the European Open Web Index (OWI) is now open for use by academic, commercial and independent teams under a general research licence, with commercial options in development on a case-by-case basis.

The OpenWebSearch.eu initiative was launched in 2022, with a consortium made up of 14 leading research institutions from across Europe, including CERN…

The OWI offers a clear alternative based on European values. The project’s cross-disciplinary nature, ensuring continuous dialogue between technical teams and legal, ethical and social experts, ensures that fairness and privacy are built into the OWI from the start. “Over thirty years since the World Wide Web was created at CERN and released to the public, our commitment to openness continues,” says Noor Afshan Fathima, IT research fellow at CERN. “Search is the next logical step in democratising digital access, especially as we enter the AI era.” The OWI facilitates AI capabilities, allowing web search data to be used for training large language models (LLMs), generating embeddings and powering chatbots…(More)”.

5 Ways AI Supports City Adaptation to Extreme Heat

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Urban AI: “Cities stand at the frontline of climate change, confronting some of its most immediate and intense consequences. Among these, extreme heat has emerged as one of the most pressing and rapidly escalating threats. As we enter June 2025, Europe is already experiencing its first major and long-lasting heatwave of the summer season with temperatures surpassing 40°C in parts of Spain, France, and Portugal — and projections indicate that this extreme event could persist well into mid-June.

This climate event is not an isolated incident. By 2050, the number of cities exposed to dangerous levels of heat is expected to triple, with peak temperatures of 48°C (118°F) potentially becoming the new normal in some regions. Such intensifying conditions place unprecedented stress on urban infrastructure, public health systems, and the overall livability of cities — especially for vulnerable communities.

In this context, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a vital tool in the urban climate adaptation toolbox. Urban AI — defined as the application of AI technologies to urban systems and decision-making — can help cities anticipate, manage, and mitigate the effects of extreme heat in more targeted and effective ways.

Cooling the Metro with AI-Driven Ventilation, in Barcelona

With over 130 stations and a century-old metro network, the city of Barcelona faces increasing pressure to ensure passenger comfort and safety — especially underground, where heat and air quality are harder to manage. In response, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), in partnership with SENER Engineering, developed and implemented the RESPIRA® system, an AI-powered ventilation control platform. First introduced in 2020 on Line 1, RESPIRA® demonstrated its effectiveness by lowering ambient temperatures, improving air circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and achieving a notable 25.1% reduction in energy consumption along with a 10.7% increase in passenger satisfaction…(More)”

Spaces for democracy with generative artificial intelligence: public architecture at stake

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Ingrid Campo-Ruiz: “Urban space is an important infrastructure for democracy and fosters democratic engagement, such as meetings, discussions, and protests. Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems could affect democracy through urban space, for example, by breaching data privacy, hindering political equality and engagement, or manipulating information about places. This research explores the urban places that promote democratic engagement according to the outputs generated with ChatGPT-4o. This research moves beyond the dominant framework of discussions on AI and democracy as a form of spreading misinformation and fake news. Instead, it provides an innovative framework, combining architectural space as an infrastructure for democracy and the way in which generative AI tools provide a nuanced view of democracy that could potentially influence millions of people. This article presents a new conceptual framework for understanding AI for democracy from the perspective of architecture. For the first case study in Stockholm, Sweden, AI outputs were later combined with GIS maps and a theoretical framework. The research then analyzes the results obtained for Madrid, Spain, and Brussels, Belgium. This analysis provides deeper insights into the outputs obtained with AI, the places that facilitate democratic engagement and those that are overlooked, and the ensuing consequences.Results show that urban space for democratic engagement obtained with ChatGPT-4o for Stockholm is mainly composed of governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations for representative or deliberative democracy and the education of individuals in public buildings in the city centre. The results obtained with ChatGPT-40 barely reflect public open spaces, parks, or routes. They also prioritize organized rather than spontaneous engagement and do not reflect unstructured events like demonstrations, and powerful actors, such as political parties, or workers’ unions. The places listed by ChatGPT-4o for Madrid and Brussels give major prominence to private spaces like offices that house organizations with political activities. While cities offer a broad and complex array of places for democratic engagement, outputs obtained with AI can narrow users’ perspectives on their real opportunities, while perpetuating powerful agents by not making them sufficiently visible to be accountable for their actions. In conclusion, urban space is a fundamental infrastructure for democracy, and AI outputs could be a valid starting point for understanding the plethora of interactions. These outputs should be complemented with other forms of knowledge to produce a more comprehensive framework that adjusts to reality for developing AI in a democratic context. Urban space should be protected as a shared space and as an asset for societies to fully develop democracy in its multiple forms. Democracy and urban spaces influence each other and are subject to pressures from different actors including AI. AI systems should, therefore, be monitored to enhance democratic values through urban space…(More)”.

TAPIS: A Simple Web Tool for Analyzing Citizen-Generated Data

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Tool by CityObs: “Citizen observatories and communities collect valuable environmental data — but making sense of this data can be tricky, especially if you’re not a data expert. That’s why we created TAPIS: a free, easy-to-use web tool developed within the CitiObs project to help you view, manage, and analyze data collected from sensors and online platforms.

Why We Built TAPIS

The SensorThings API is a standard for sharing sensor data, used by many observatories. However, tools that help people explore this data visually and interactively have been limited. Often, users had to dig into complicated URLs and query parameters such as “expand”, “select”, “orderby” and “filter” to extract the data they needed, as illustrated in tutorials and examples such as the ones collected by SensorUp [1].

TAPIS changes that. It gives you a visual interface to work with sensor data from different API standards (such as SensorThings API, STAplus, OGC API Features/Records, OGC Catalogue Service for the Web, S3 Services, Eclipse Data Connectors, and STAC) and data file formats (such as CSV, JSON, JSON-LD, GeoJSON, and GeoPackage). You can load the data into tables, filter or group it, and view it as maps, bar charts, pie charts, or scatter plots — all in your browser, with no installation required.

Key Features

  • Connects to online data sources (like OGC APIs, STAC, SensorThings, and CSV files)
  • Turns raw data into easy-to-read tables
  • Adds meaning to table columns
  • Visualizes data with different chart types
  • Links with MiraMon to create interactive maps

TAPIS is inspired by the look and feel of Orange Data Mining (a popular data science tool) — but runs entirely in your browser, making it accessible for all users, even those with limited technical skills…(More)”

The path for AI in poor nations does not need to be paved with billions

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Editorial in Nature: “Coinciding with US President Donald Trump’s tour of Gulf states last week, Saudi Arabia announced that it is embarking on a large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) initiative. The proposed venture will have state backing and considerable involvement from US technology firms. It is the latest move in a global expansion of AI ambitions beyond the existing heartlands of the United States, China and Europe. However, as Nature India, Nature Africa and Nature Middle East report in a series of articles on AI in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) published on 21 May (see go.nature.com/45jy3qq), the path to home-grown AI doesn’t need to be paved with billions, or even hundreds of millions, of dollars, or depend exclusively on partners in Western nations or China…, as a News Feature that appears in the series makes plain (see go.nature.com/3yrd3u2), many initiatives in LMICs aren’t focusing on scaling up, but on ‘scaling right’. They are “building models that work for local users, in their languages, and within their social and economic realities”.

More such local initiatives are needed. Some of the most popular AI applications, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini, are trained mainly on data in European languages. That would mean that the model is less effective for users who speak Hindi, Arabic, Swahili, Xhosa and countless other languages. Countries are boosting home-grown apps by funding start-up companies, establishing AI education programmes, building AI research and regulatory capacity and through public engagement.

Those LMICs that have started investing in AI began by establishing an AI strategy, including policies for AI research. However, as things stand, most of the 55 member states of the African Union and of the 22 members of the League of Arab States have not produced an AI strategy. That must change…(More)”.

Assessing data governance models for smart cities: Benchmarking data governance models on the basis of European urban requirements

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Paper by Yusuf Bozkurt, Alexander Rossmann, Zeeshan Pervez, and Naeem Ramzan: “Smart cities aim to improve residents’ quality of life by implementing effective services, infrastructure, and processes through information and communication technologies. However, without robust smart city data governance, much of the urban data potential remains underexploited, resulting in inefficiencies and missed opportunities for city administrations. This study addresses these challenges by establishing specific, actionable requirements for smart city data governance models, derived from expert interviews with representatives of 27 European cities. From these interviews, recurring themes emerged, such as the need for standardized data formats, clear data access guidelines, and stronger cross-departmental collaboration mechanisms. These requirements emphasize technology independence, flexibility to adapt across different urban contexts, and promoting a data-driven culture. By benchmarking existing data governance models against these newly established urban requirements, the study uncovers significant variations in their ability to address the complex, dynamic nature of smart city data systems. This study thus enhances the theoretical understanding of data governance in smart cities and provides municipal decision-makers with actionable insights for improving data governance strategies. In doing so, it directly supports the broader goals of sustainable urban development by helping improve the efficiency and effectiveness of smart city initiatives…(More)”.