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Articles for category: AAA General
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Voting To Annex?
On December 3, Venezuelans will vote in a referendum on the annexation of Esequibo to the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. This blog post argues that the referendum has implications for both domestic constitutional law and international law. Since the referendum cannot have any practical effect under international law, it also violates the voters’ constitutional right to participate freely in public affairs. By prioritizing solely the interests of Venezuela over the sovereignty of Guyana, the referendum might be contrary to the principles of peaceful dispute settlement and the prohibition of force, as stipulated in the United Nations Charter. It could also challenge the established legal doctrine of state consent and infringe upon the principle of prioritizing international obligations over national law.
Europe and the Global Race to Regulate AI
The EU wants to set the global rule book for AI. This blog explains the complex “risk hierarchy” that pervades the proposed AI Act, currently in the final stages of trilogue negotiation. This contrasts with the US focus on “national security risks”. We point out shortcomings of the EU approach requiring comprehensive risk assessments (ex ante), at the level of technology development. Using economic analysis, we distinguish exogenous and endogenous sources of potential AI harm arising from input data. We are sceptical that legislators can anticipate the future of a general purpose technology, such as AI. We propose that from the perspective of encouraging ongoing innovation, (ex post) liability rules can provide the right incentives to improve data quality and AI safety.
We Don’t Need No Education?
Artificial Intelligence doesn't know what's 'true'. Especially, generative AI models like chatbots veer from the truth, i.e. “hallucinate”, quite regularly. Chatbots simply invent information at least 3 percent of the time and sometimes as high as 27 percent. Given the (future) use of such systems in nearly all domains, we might want such systems to follow more stringent rules of accuracy. And those truth-related rules are not the only rules for AI systems that warrant societal scrutiny. How those systems are trained will be crucial. In this blog post, we argue that a new perspective is key to tackle this challenge: “Hybrid Speech Governance”.
How the War in Gaza May Upend Israel’s Constitutional Limbo
The war in Gaza serves, this blog post argues, as the final nail in the coffin of Netanyahu's judicial overhaul. The Israeli political climate, relentless opposition and the political fallout after Hamas' surprise attack on Israel and the current war thwarted the judicial overhaul. However, populism is far from overcome. Therefore, the current failed judicial overhaul remains a warning sign for the democracy-seeking public in Israel and should raise demand for constitutional entrenchment of the democratic values of the Israeli state. As the judicial overhaul of 2023 has shown us – democracy is not safe if it hangs by the thread of a simple majority in parliament.
Bekenntnisdruck
Robert Habecks Rede und die "hier lebenden Muslime"
Commitment Pressure
Robert Habeck's speech and "Muslims living here"
Defusing an Atomic Bomb
The sigh of relief was audible throughout Europe. In Brussels and other European capitals, the victory of the opposition bloc in the Polish elections sparked hope that the imminent change in government would end the illiberal course of the past. While years of democratic backsliding have left lasting marks on Poland’s political and legal landscape, the newly elected government is clearly committed to leading Poland back onto the path of democracy and the rule of law. However, one pertinent institutional issue remains to be resolved: the still pending procedure against Poland under Art 7 TEU.
The Right To Die Like The Trees: Standing
My name is dr. Dániel András Karsai. I am a human rights attorney. I am also terminally ill. In August 2022, I was diagnosed with ALS. ALS is a so-called motor neurone disease. ALS leads to an extremely humiliating life situation, increasingly depriving you of independence. For reasons unknown to medical science, this disease causes nerve cells that move the muscles to deteriorate, leading to muscle atrophy and ultimately complete paralysis. At the end of the disease, respiratory functions also cease, resulting in death by asphyxiation. The final stage of the disease is virtually a vegetative existence, without any possibility of conscious activity or communication. For me, this form of existence is devoid of all meaning and dignity. In this situation, I firmly believe in the arguable claim to demand the right to end my life with dignity instead of enduring meaningless suffering.
