Red Teaming Artificial Intelligence for Social Good

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

UNESCO Report: “Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) has become an integral part of our digital landscape and daily life. Understanding its risks and participating in solutions is crucial to ensuring that it works for the overall social good. This PLAYBOOK introduces Red Teaming as an accessible tool for testing and evaluating AI systems for social good, exposing stereotypes, bias and potential harms. As a way of illustrating harms, practical examples of Red Teaming for social good are provided, building on the collaborative work carried out by UNESCO and Humane Intelligence. The results demonstrate forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) enabled by Gen AI and provide practical actions and recommendations on how to address these growing concerns.

Red Teaming — the practice of intentionally testing Gen AI models to expose vulnerabilities — has traditionally been used by major tech companies and AI labs. One tech company surveyed 1,000 machine learning engineers and found that 89% reported vulnerabilities (Aporia, 2024). This PLAYBOOK provides access to these critical testing methods, enabling organizations and communities to actively participate. Through the structured exercises and real-world scenarios provided, participants can systematically evaluate how Gen AI models may perpetuate, either intentionally or unintentionally, stereotypes or enable gender-based violence.By providing organizations with this easy-to-use tool to conduct their own Red Teaming exercises, participants can select their own thematic area of concern, enabling evidence-based advocacy for more equitable AI for social good…(More)”.

Enjoy TikTok Explainers? These Old-Fashioned Diagrams Are A Whole Lot Smarter

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Jonathon Keats: “In the aftermath of Hiroshima, many of the scientists who built the atomic bomb changed the way they reckoned time. Their conception of the future was published on the cover of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which portrayed a clock set at seven minutes to midnight. In subsequent months and years, the clock sometimes advanced. Other times, the hands fell back. With this simple indication, the timepiece tracked the likelihood of nuclear annihilation.

Although few of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project are still alive, the Doomsday Clock remains operational, steadfastly translating risk into units of hours and minutes. Over time, the diagram has become iconic, and not only for subscribers to The Bulletin. It’s now so broadly recognizable that we may no longer recognize what makes it radical.

12 - Fondazione Prada_Diagrams
John Auldjo. Map of Vesuvius showing the direction of the streams of lava in the eruptions from 1631 to 1831, 1832. Exhibition copy from a printed book In John Auldjo, Sketches of Vesuvius: with Short Accounts of Its Principal Eruptions from the Commencement of the Christian Era to the Present Time (Napoli: George Glass, 1832). Olschki 53, plate before p. 27, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, Firenze. Courtesy Ministero della Cultura – Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. Any unauthorized reproduction by any means whatsoever is prohibited.Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze

A thrilling new exhibition at the Fondazione Prada brings the Doomsday Clock back into focus. Featuring hundreds of diagrams from the past millennium, ranging from financial charts to maps of volcanic eruptions, the exhibition provides the kind of survey that brings definition to an entire category of visual communication. Each work benefits from its association with others that are manifestly different in form and function…(More)”.

Beyond AI and Copyright

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

White Paper by Paul Keller: “…argues for interventions to ensure the sustainability of the information ecosystem in the age of generative AI. Authored by Paul Keller, the paper builds on Open Future’s ongoing work on Public AI and on AI and creative labour, and proposes measures aimed at ensuring a healthy and equitable digital knowledge commons.

Rather than focusing on the rights of individual creators or the infringement debates that dominate current policy discourse, the paper frames generative AI as a new cultural and social technology—one that is rapidly reshaping how societies access, produce, and value information. It identifies two major structural risks: the growing concentration of control over knowledge, and the hollowing out of the institutions and economies that sustain human information production.

To counter these risks, the paper calls for the development of public AI infrastructures and a redistributive mechanism based on a levy on commercial AI systems trained on publicly available information. The proceeds would support not only creators and rightholders, but also public service media, cultural heritage institutions, open content platforms, and the development of Public AI systems…(More)”.

Community Engagement Is Crucial for Successful State Data Efforts

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Resource by the Data Quality Campaign: “Engaging communities is a critical step toward ensuring that data efforts work for their intended audiences. People, including state policymakers, school leaders, families, college administrators, employers, and the public, should have a say in how their state provides access to education and workforce data. And as state leaders build robust statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) or move other data efforts forward, they must deliberately create consistent opportunities for communities to weigh in. This resource explores how states can meaningfully engage with communities to build trust and improve data efforts by ensuring that systems, tools, and resources are valuable to the people who use them…(More)”.

Global Youth Participation Index – GYPI

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

About: “The GYPI Report offers a powerful, data-driven overview of youth political participation in over 141 countries. From voting rights to civic activism, the report explores how young people engage in politics and where gaps persist. Inside, you’ll find:

  • Global rankings and country-level scores across four key dimensions of youth participation: Socio-Economic, Civic Space, Political Affairs and Elections,
  • Regional insights and thematic trends,
  • Actionable recommendations for policymakers, civil society, and international organisations.

Whether you’re a decision-maker, activist, researcher, or advocate, the report gives you the tools to better understand and strengthen youth participation in public life…(More)”.

Sustainable Development Report 2025

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN): “Ten years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), progress remains alarmingly off-track, with less than 20% of targets projected to be achieved by 2030…The SDR includes the SDG Index and Dashboards, which rank all UN Member States on their performance across the 17 Goals, and this year’s report features a new Index (SDGi), which focuses on 17 headline indicators to track overall SDG progress over time…This year’s SDR highlights five key findings:

The Global Financial Architecture (GFA) must be urgently reformed to finance global public goods and achieve sustainable development. Roughly half the world’s population resides in countries that cannot adequately invest in sustainable development due to unsustainable debt burdens and limited access to affordable, long-term capital. Sustainable development is a high-return investment, yet the GFA continues to direct capital toward high-income countries instead of EMDEs, which offer stronger growth prospects and higher returns. Global public goods also remain significantly underfinanced. The upcoming Ff4D offers a critical opportunity for UN Member States to reform this system and ensure that international financing flows at scale to EMDEs to achieve sustainable development…

At the global level, SDG progress has stalled; none of the 17 Global Goals are on track, and only 17% of the SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030. Conflicts, structural vulnerabilities, and limited fiscal space continue to hinder progress, especially in emerging and developing economies (EMDEs). The five targets showing significant reversal in progress since 2015 include: obesity rate (SDG 2), press freedom (SDG 16), sustainable nitrogen management (SDG 2), the red list index (SDG 15), and the corruption perception index (SDG 16). Conversely, many countries have made notable progress in expanding access to basic services and infrastructure, including: mobile broadband use (SDG 9), access to electricity (SDG 7), internet use (SDG 9), under-5 mortality rate (SDG 3), and neonatal mortality (SDG 3). However, future progress on many of these indicators, including health-related outcomes, is threatened by global tensions and the decline in international development finance.

Barbados leads again in UN-based multilateralism commitment, while the U.S. ranks last. The SDR 2025’s Index of countries’ support to UN-based multilateralism (UN-Mi) ranks countries based on their support for and engagement with the UN system. The top three countries most committed to UN multilateralism are: Barbados (#1), Jamaica (#2), and Trinidad and Tobago (#3). Among G20 nations, Brazil (#25) ranks highest, while Chile (#7) leads among OECD countries. In contrast, the U.S., which recently withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO) and formally declared its opposition to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, ranks last (#193) for the second year in a row…(More)”

From Safer Cities to Healthier Lives: The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

World Economic Forum: “As cities become more connected, collaborative sensing is enabling vehicles, traffic systems and emergency services to coordinate in real time – improving safety and easing congestion. This is just one of the World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025 that is expected to deliver real-world impact within three to five years and address urgent global challenges….The report outlines what is needed to bring them to scale: investment, infrastructure, standards and responsible governance, and calls on business, government and the scientific community to collaborate to ensure their development serves the public good.

Trajectory of emerging technologies in healthcare overtime.
Trajectory of emerging technologies in healthcare overtime.

This year’s edition highlights a trend towards technology convergence. For example, structural battery composites combine energy with storage design, while engineered living therapeutics merge synthetic biology and precision medicine. Such integration signals a shift away from standalone innovations to more integrated systems-based solutions, reshaping what is possible.

“The path from breakthrough research to tangible societal progress depends on transparency, collaboration, and open science,” said Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor, Frontiers. “Together with the World Economic Forum, we have once again delivered trusted, evidence-based insights on emerging technologies that will shape a better future for all.”

The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025

Trust and safety in a connected world:

1. Collaborative sensing

Networks of connected sensors can help vehicles, cities and emergency services share information in real time. This can improve safety, reduce traffic and respond faster to crises.

2. Generative watermarking

This technology adds invisible tags to AI-generated content, making it easier to tell what is real and what is not. It could help fight misinformation and protect trust online…(More)”.

Introducing CC Signals: A New Social Contract for the Age of AI

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Creative Commons: “Creative Commons (CC) today announces the public kickoff of the CC signals project, a new preference signals framework designed to increase reciprocity and sustain a creative commons in the age of AI. The development of CC signals represents a major step forward in building a more equitable, sustainable AI ecosystem rooted in shared benefits. This step is the culmination of years of consultation and analysis. As we enter this new phase of work, we are actively seeking input from the public. 

As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms how knowledge is created, shared, and reused, we are at a fork in the road that will define the future of access to knowledge and shared creativity. One path leads to data extraction and the erosion of openness; the other leads to a walled-off internet guarded by paywalls. CC signals offer another way, grounded in the nuanced values of the commons expressed by the collective.

Based on the same principles that gave rise to the CC licenses and tens of billions of works openly licensed online, CC signals will allow dataset holders to signal their preferences for how their content can be reused by machines based on a set of limited but meaningful options shaped in the public interest. They are both a technical and legal tool and a social proposition: a call for a new pact between those who share data and those who use it to train AI models.

“CC signals are designed to sustain the commons in the age of AI,” said Anna Tumadóttir, CEO, Creative Commons. “Just as the CC licenses helped build the open web, we believe CC signals will help shape an open AI ecosystem grounded in reciprocity.”

CC signals recognize that change requires systems-level coordination. They are tools that will be built for machine and human readability, and are flexible across legal, technical, and normative contexts. However, at their core CC signals are anchored in mobilizing the power of the collective. While CC signals may range in enforceability, legally binding in some cases and normative in others, their application will always carry ethical weight that says we give, we take, we give again, and we are all in this together.…

Now Ready for Feedback 

More information about CC signals and early design decisions are available on the CC website. We are committed to developing CC signals transparently and alongside our partners and community. We are actively seeking public feedback and input over the next few months as we work toward an alpha launch in November 2025….(More)”

Government at a Glance 2025

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

OECD Report: “Governments face a highly complex operating environment marked by major demographic, environmental, and digital shifts, alongside low trust and constrained fiscal space. 

Responding effectively means concentrating efforts on three fronts: Enhancing individuals’ sense of dignity in their interactions with government, restoring a sense of security amid rapid societal and economic changes, and improving government efficiency and effectiveness to help boost productivity in the economy, while restoring public finances. These priorities converge in the governance of the green transition.

Government at a Glance 2025 offers evidence-based tools to tackle these long-term challenges…

Governments are not yet making the most of digital tools and data to improve effectiveness and efficiency

Data, digital tools and AI all offer the prospect of efficiency gains. OECD countries score, on average, 0.61 on the Digital Government Index (on a 0-1 scale) but could improve their digital policy frameworks, whole-of-government approaches and use of data as a strategic asset. On average, only 47% of OECD governments’ high-value datasets are openly available, falling to just 37% in education and 42% in health and social welfare…(More)”.

Sharing trustworthy AI models with privacy-enhancing technologies

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

OECD Report: “Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) are critical tools for building trust in the collaborative development and sharing of artificial intelligence (AI) models while protecting privacy, intellectual property, and sensitive information. This report identifies two key types of PET use cases. The first is enhancing the performance of AI models through confidential and minimal use of input data, with technologies like trusted execution environments, federated learning, and secure multi-party computation. The second is enabling the confidential co-creation and sharing of AI models using tools such as differential privacy, trusted execution environments, and homomorphic encryption. PETs can reduce the need for additional data collection, facilitate data-sharing partnerships, and help address risks in AI governance. However, they are not silver bullets. While combining different PETs can help compensate for their individual limitations, balancing utility, efficiency, and usability remains challenging. Governments and regulators can encourage PET adoption through policies, including guidance, regulatory sandboxes, and R&D support, which would help build sustainable PET markets and promote trustworthy AI innovation…(More)”.