We are granting our patronage to the 3RD IN-HOUSE LAWYERS FORUM
Once again, Homo Digitalis has the great honor and pleasure of granting its patronage to the 3RD IN-HOUSE LAWYERS FORUM, organized by CLEON Conferences & Communications on January 29th at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens!
Among the speakers, we were proud to have some of our members, in their professional capacity, including our Board Secretary, Stefanos Vitoratos!
We thank the organizers for the collaboration, including Mr. Grigorios Leontidis. You can learn more about the conference here.
Our organization voluntarily grants its patronage to selected actions, initiatives, and other events, aiming to actively support and promote initiatives related to the protection of digital rights. If you have relevant goals and are interested in a pro bono collaboration, please contact us at info@homodigitalis.gr.
Homo Digitalis spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Geneva.
Doing More With Less at Geneva Day in Davos: How to address growing needs in times of economic uncertainty?
We explored this crucial question on Monday 21/1 during a panel discussion held as part of Geneva Day at the House of Switzerland in Davos. We were proud to participate in this event co-organised by Swiss Financial Innovation Desk and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva, during the World Economic Forum 2025.
This engaging discussion explored emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), combined with innovative fiscal policies, as tools to meet the critical challenges of tomorrow. Our president, Elpida Vamvaka, represented our team speaking about our important actions and victories in the field of AI in Greece, as well as the NGI – The Next Generation Internet NGI TALER project, building a new, privacy-preserving, secure electronic payment system based on open standards, free software, and advanced cryptography.
A heartfelt thank you to the organisers and the distinguished panelists Christoph König, Deputy State Secretary, State Secretariat for International Finance SIF, Kelly T. Clements,, Deputy High Commissioner at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Daniel Eidan, Advisor & Solution Architect at Bank for International Settlements – BIS Innovation Hub.
The amazing Eva Selamlar-Leuthold, Head of Swiss Financial Innovation Desk (FIND), moderated this particularly dynamic and insightful discussion in a unique manner.
We would also like to extend our warmest thanks to Jonas Pasquier, Head of Global Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, his entire team, the Mission, as well as the Presence Switzerland team at the House of Switzerland, for making this event a success.
Would you like to get more insights from this discussion. Stay tuned for an upcoming publication by the Swiss Financial Innovation Desk, here.
The President of Homo Digitalis, Elpida Vamvaka, is Invited to WEF at DAVOS: Recognition on a Global Stage
We are thrilled to announce that Homo Digitalis has been invited to participate in an esteemed panel discussion at DAVOS, organized by the Swiss Financial Innovation Desk (FIND) of the State Secretariat for International Finance and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva in the context of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Event Details:
Topic: Doing More with Less: How to Address Growing Needs in Times of Economic Uncertainty
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 21, 2025 | 17:00-18:30
Location: Crystal Lounge, Davos
Our President, Elpida Vamvaka, will join a distinguished panel of global leaders to discuss how emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) can empower governments and organizations to address critical global challenges in times of economic uncertainty. Specifically, in the panel hosting our President, Elpida Vamvaka will be also speaking:
– Christoph König, Deputy State Secretary, State Secretariat for International Finance
– Kelly Clements, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees
– Morten Bech, Centre Head Switzerland, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub
The moderator of the panel will be Eva Selamlar, Head of Swiss Financial Innovation Desk (FIND)
While we celebrate this global recognition, it underscores the need for similar trust and acknowledgment at the national level in Greece. Strengthening Greece’s commitment to technological innovation and policy foresight will pave the way for meaningful change.
You can find more details about the event here.
Let’s make human rights-oriented innovation the cornerstone of a brighter and more resilient future – for Greece and the world.
Joint Statement on the Upcoming European Commission Guidelines on Prohibited Practices of the AI Act
We are publishing a joint statement on the upcoming European Commission Guidelines on Prohibited Practices of the AI Act.
On December 11, 2024, the European Commission completed its public consultation on the interpretation of the definition of an AI system and on prohibited AI practices, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 2024/1689 (AI Act). Homo Digitalis participated in the related process.
In the context of the issuance of the expected guidelines by the Commission, concerns remain about potential gaps that could jeopardize fundamental rights. For this reason, and together with more than 25 civil society organizations, academics, and other experts, we are issuing a statement today, urging the AI Office and the European Commission to ensure specific demands.
You can read our joint statement here.
Eleftherios Chelioudakis of Homo Digitalis as a Trainer in the 3rd OSCE ODIHR Training on Personal Data & Border Management
From December 4 to 6, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, our Co-founder and Executive Director, participated as a trainer in the third training session organized by the international organization OSCE, specifically its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw. The training explored the use of new technologies at international borders, as well as the risks and opportunities they pose for Human Rights.
In our five presentations, we focused on the technologies used at borders, the Human Rights impacted by these uses, the provisions of the GDPR and Directive 2016/680 LED, the significant decision by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) regarding the “KENTAYROS” and “YPERION” systems, as well as technical tools that human rights defenders can use in their work!
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the participants for their dynamic presence, to the team of outstanding trainers Nikola Kovačević, Djordje Alempijevic, and Arancha Garcia del Soto for their knowledge and expertise, and to the organizing team, Lola Girard and Veronica Grazzi, for their impeccable organization and contributions. It is a great honor for us to participate!
You can learn more here.
Homo Digitalis Collaborates Once Again with the Digital World Summit Greece
We are delighted to announce that, for yet another year, the Digital World Summit Greece (DWS Greece) and Homo Digitalis are moving forward with a strategic partnership!
The Digital World Summit Greece (DWS Greece) aims to promote the democratic governance of new technologies. As a dialogue platform, it brings together diverse stakeholders and groups, shaping policies from the grassroots level to the top on issues related to artificial intelligence, platforms, the Internet of Things, and broader technological domains.
Homo Digitalis has actively supported DWS Greece since its inception, and it is a great honor for us to continue doing so dynamically. Together, we aim to contribute to the maturation of public discourse in Greece on issues related to digital rights.
You can learn more about the activities of the Digital World Summit Greece on their website, here.
We Publish Our Third Study on the AI Act, Focusing on Article 5 & Prohibited Practices
Today, Homo Digitalis publishes its third study on Regulation 2024/1689, the now widely known AI Act, titled “Artificial Intelligence Act: Analysis of Provisions on Prohibited Practices in Article 5 of Regulation 2024/1689.”
The authors of this study are Sophia Antonopoulou, Lamprini Gyftokosta, Tania Skrapaliori, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, and Stavroula Chousou.
The aim of this Homo Digitalis analysis is to systematically approach each provision of Article 5 of the AI Regulation, related to Manipulative or deceptive techniques, Exploitation of vulnerabilities, Assessment of social behavior, Facial recognition database use, Prediction of criminal offenses, Emotion detection,Biometric categorization systems, and Remote biometric identification.
With our study, we provide targeted questions highlighting the critical aspects of individual provisions, identifying the so-called “gray areas”—points that present ambiguities, overlaps, or potential interpretative challenges. We substantiate our concerns with specific examples and pose precise questions to be addressed by the upcoming guidelines of the European Commission’s AI Office and the national legislator.
As with our first two studies (published in October and November 2024, respectively), our third study also aims to support the Ministry of Digital Governance in its mission to transpose the AI Act into Greek legislation. Additionally, through our detailed analyses and arguments, we aim to contribute to the maturation of public discourse and empower more Civil Society organizations to actively participate in it.
You can read our study, “Artificial Intelligence Act: Analysis of Provisions on Prohibited Practices in Article 5 of Regulation 2024/1689,” (available in EL) here.
Homo Digitalis participated in AI Office’s consultation on Prohibited Practices under the AI Act
In November 2024, the European Commission’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office launched a consultation on AI Act prohibitions and AI system definition.
The guidelines under development will help national competent authorities as well as providers and deployers in complying with the AI Act’s rules on such AI practices ahead of the application of the relevant provisions on 2 February 2025.
Homo Digitalis participated in this public consultation process by submitting our input, in an attempt to highlight challenges and provide further clarity on practical aspects and use cases.
The authors’ team of our public consultation is composed of our Director on Human Rights & Artificial Intelligence, Lamprini Gyftokosta and our members Sophia Antonopoulou and Stavrina Chousou.
You can read our input here.
Stay tuned, since our dedicated report on the AI Act and its provisions on Prohibited Practices is to be published soon!
We publish our Second AI Act Study on market surveillance authorities and the AI governance ecosystem
Today Homo Digitalis publishes its second study on Regulation 2024/1689, the now well-known AI Act, entitled “AI Act: Analysis of Provisions for AI Governance and Competent Market Surveillance Authorities“.
The writing team for the study consists of Homo Digitalis’ Director of Human Rights and AI, Lamprini Gyftokosta, and our member Niki Georgakopoulou.
The purpose of this Homo Digitalis analysis is to highlight some of the critical issues raised by the implementation of the AI governance system provisions, taking into account national structures as well as the civil society perspective.
More specifically, in this analysis we answer the following questions:
- What governance structure does the Regulation propose for AI?
- What does the concept of ‘market surveillance authority’ mean for the AI Regulation?
- What is in Regulation 2019/1020 and why should we consider its provisions together with the AI Act?
- Which Greek authorities meet the requirements set out in the two Regulations and why?
- What governance models have been adopted or are under discussion in other jurisdictions at this time?
- What are our main concerns?
- What are our main suggestions for improvement?
We recall that on 12 November, the Department for Digital Government took the first official step in implementing the AI Act by publishing the list of national authorities for the protection of fundamental rights. These principles include: The Data Protection Authority, the Ombudsman, the Communications Privacy Authority and the National Human Rights Commission.
In this regard, as early as 25 October, with our first Study “Analysis and proposals for the incorporation of the provisions on impact assessment on fundamental rights in Greece“, we had already presented detailed proposals on this issue. If you did not have time to read our Study, we invite you to see the one-page summary we prepared, specifically for the National Fundamental Rights Authorities.
The Ministry’s publication was only the first step. The next critical obligation is the institutional design of the market surveillance authorities, which must be completed by August 2, 2025, in accordance with Article 113 of the Regulation.
The second Study that we are publishing today is precisely intended to assist the Ministry of Digital Governance, which has the task of carrying out the difficult task of synthesizing this ecosystem in Greece, but also, with our detailed analyses and arguments, to help mature the public debate and enable more civil society organizations to actively participate in it.