Learn more about the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, in the drafting of which Homo Digitalis was actively involved.
The Council of Europe has published an important overview of the “Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law,” the first international legally binding instrument for AI.
The AI Treaty “aims to ensure that activities within the lifecycle of artificial intelligence systems are fully consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law, while being conducive to technological progress and innovation.”
For more than 4 years, since July 2020, Homo Digitalis has been actively involved in the relevant processes of the Council of Europe, initially participating in the CAHAI (Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence) in the Policy Development and Legal Frameworks Working Groups, and subsequently in the Council of Europe’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI). Throughout this period, we had the honor of closely collaborating with civil society organizations, academic experts, member delegations, the Presidents of the Committees and Working Groups, and the Secretariat of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the development of the AI Convention.
Our co-founder and Executive Director, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, has represented Homo Digitalis in the relevant processes for the past 4 years.
Despite the limitations in the text of the Convention, which we have discussed in detail, we eagerly anticipate its adoption and implementation by the Member States of the Council of Europe. The treaty will be open for signature on September 5, 2024.
You can read the related overview here.
We submitted an Open Letter to the Special Secretary of Foresight Strategy about the National AI Strategy and the enforcement of the AI Act
Today, 1/8/2024, on the occasion of the entry into force of the AI Act, Homo Digitalis sent a letter to the Special Secretary of Foresight Strategy of the Hellenic Government, Mr. Giannis Mastrogiorgiou, regarding the National Strategy for AI and the incorporation of the AI Act into national law! In addition, we communicated our concerns to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Digital Governance.
Among other things, we raise critical questions about the national governance and oversight model, the creation of regulatory sandboxes (No. 57) and how the Greek public will be informed when subjected to the use of AI systems that create profiles or make decisions about them in the provision of public services.
At Homo Digitalis, we believe that the next steps of the Greek government will be crucial for the effective or not defence of digital rights in Greece, at a time when AI is a reality in our daily lives. The proper incorporation of such a technical and legally complex legislation into national law and the solutions adopted to address the ethical and social issues that arise are crucial for all of us.
You can see the full text of our letter here.
We want access to essential services to be guaranteed offline too!
In the beginning of June, Homo Digitalis joined a large number of orgsanisations calling the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to guarantee access to essential services offline!
Public administration, banks and energy suppliers, as well as employers, health providers and more, have moved online, and counters, mail services and phone lines are disappearing. Yet, more than 40% of Europe’s population still lacks basic digital skills, preventing them from accessing certain essential services. There is an urgent need to guarantee multichannel (incl. off-line) access to all essential services.
Yu can sign the related open letter here.
The coordinator of this action is Lire et Écrire, a Belgian based literacy organization. Since 1983, the organization provides free literacy trainings and research on illiteracy and literacy processes.
We submitted our report to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education regarding the use of AI in education
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms Farida Shaheed is preparing her upcoming report for the UN General Assembly in October 2024 on the promotion of the right to education based on artificial intelligence tools.
Homo Digitalis, after completing a tour of schools and conversations with teachers, students and parents, believes that the contribution of civil society with a practical look at this issue is important!
For this reason we have submitted our report before her on Monday 27 May. We would like to thank Anastasios and Viliy Karagiorgou and Lamprini Gyftokosta for their important contribution to the drafting and filing of this report!
We published our successful Report for the five-year period 2018-2023
In 2018, we started with 6 founding members, 25 volunteers and 1,000 euros in the organization’s account. Nobody knew us, but we knew what we wanted to achieve, what gap we were trying to fill, where we wanted to go.Today, we celebrate our 6 years of operation and publish our 5-year report, about everything we have achieved in the period 2018 -2023. The detailed Report contains the beginning of our story, information about the mission, vision and values of Homo Digitalis, and a thorough review of all our major successes by pillar of action, namely a) Awareness, b) Advocay , and c) Legal Actions and Interventions. Finally, in order to enhance transparency about our financial accounts, we have also included all of our Financial Reports for the entire five years period!
You can read our Homo Digitalis’ “Five Year Report 2018-2023” in Greek here or in English here. The report was curated by our Director on Human Rights and AI, Lambrini Gyftokosta.
Looking back we are happy, proud and excited, because until the summer of 2023, we: gained over 130 volunteers, have steadily increased our revenue by 353% every year, filed over 20 complaints with Greek and European authorities, managed to fine Clearview AI €20 million (the largest in Greece), visited more than 30 schools and raised awareness with our actions for more than 3500 students and citizens, gave more than 40 media interviews in Greece and Europe, supported more than 50 joint actions with other Greek and European organisations in the field of digital rights, acquired more than 10.000 followers on social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X), published more than 150 articles of scientific, technical and legal interest on our website with the contribution of our volunteers, became the first and only organisation from Greece to be a member of EDRi, the European Digital Rights Network; and although we started as a purely voluntary organisation, we managed to hire our first employee!
On this journey we were not alone. One of our greatest successes is our collaboration with a large network of universities, organisations, institutions, research centres and all our member volunteers who helped us take our actions one step further!
Looking ahead we are optimistic. We are moving forward dynamically, conquering small and big goals that will bring us even closer to the world we dream of and want to build together!
Our new action before the European Data Protection Board on its case regardin Meta's Pay Or Okay model
Last Thursday, 7 March, together with European Digital Rights and other important civil society organisations, we submitted an Open Letter to the European Data Protection Board (EDPS) on Meta’s #PayOrOkay model.
We call on the EDPS in its opinion to condemn these commercial subscription models that allow those with the money to pay for their privacy and those without to be at the mercy of the voracious data collection practices of big tech companies.
You can read our letter in detail here. This is Homo Digitalis’ second relevant action against Meta’s Pay or Okay model on a pan-European level.
Our joint action on the Digital Euro & Right to Cash legislative initiatives
At the end of February, together with epicenter.works, European Digital Rights and other important civil society organisations, we sent a letter to the MEPs who are the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs of the DigitalEuro and Right To Cash packages.
Despite the fact that both proposed pieces of legislation are part of the same legislative package, we see that the relevant negotiations are moving at two different speeds!
With the European elections approaching and uncertainty prevailing regarding the proposed legislation on the Digital Euro and the challenges that arise with its technical features, we call on MEPs to separate these two legislative proposals in order to spend the necessary time to solve the problems that have been identified and highlighted by academics, and other experts in the field.
You can view our joint letter here.
Homo Digitalis at the second annual Digital Policy Leadership Summit in Brussels!
Homo Digitalis at the second annual Digital Policy Leadership Summit in Brussels!Last weekend, Homo Digitalis participated in the second annual Digital Policy Leadership Summit in Brussels
Over the course of these two days, alongside an amazing group of talented and brilliant individuals, we dove deep into critical conversations and shared our knowledge and experience to cultivate and strengthen new forms of leadership to promote equitable and inclusive digital policy.
We also discussed issues of policy strategizing, including racial justice in AI, and addressing misinformation in the context of elections.
Our group was represented by Eleftherios Chelioudakis. We are grateful to the organizers for the great support that made our participation possible!Read more about the summit and its objectives here.
Privacy Day is not a day of wishes, but a day of responsibility!
28 January is the international day dedicated to the protection of personal data!
Since March 2018, and for almost 6 years now, Homo Digitalis has carried out important actions for the protection of personal data in all 3 pillars of its action, those of awareness-raising, policy-making and legal actions.
At our celebratory event last month, we spent about 2 hours talking about all our successes. For today, we prepared a short video of a few seconds to present some highlights of these successes. Because today is not a day of wishes, but a day of responsibility! You can watch our short video https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7157389006190608384here.