SAT: a methodology to assess the social acceptance of innovative AI-based technologies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the conceptual model of an innovative methodology (SAT) to assess the social acceptance of technology, especially focusing on artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology. Design/methodology/approach After a review of the literature, this paper presents the main lines by which SAT stands out from current methods, namely, a four-bubble approach and a mix of qualitative and quantitative techniques that offer assessments that look at technology as a socio-technical system. Each bubble determines the social variability of a cluster of values: User-Experience Acceptance, Social Disruptiveness, Value Impact and Trust. Findings The methodology is still in development, requiring further developments, specifications and validation. Accordingly, the findings of this paper refer to the realm of the research discussion, that is, highlighting the importance of preventively assessing and forecasting the acceptance of technology and building the best design strategies to boost sustainable and ethical technology adoption. Social implications Once SAT method will be validated, it could constitute a useful tool, with societal implications, for helping users, markets and institutions to appraise and determine the co-implications of technology and socio-cultural contexts. Originality/value New AI applications flood today’s users and markets, often without a clear understanding of risks and impacts. In the European context, regulations (EU AI Act) and rules (EU Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy) try to fill this normative gap. The SAT method seeks to integrate the risk-based assessment of AI with an assessment of the perceptive-psychological and socio-behavioural aspects of its social acceptability

For a “Genealogy” of the Political Debate on 5G

We are observing in society a twofold trend in shaping the technological discourse of 5G. On one hand, there are a lot of spontaneous social movements that protest public institutions and decision-makers arguing about the perilous development of 5G for human health. On the other hand, far from the participation of citizens, governments and large ICT companies decide the destiny of the application of this novel technology arising the suspect of common people. It seems to us that the insistent emphasis on health risk and the idea of a 5G conspiracy are two sides of the same coin. But this sclerotized manifestation threatens to lose sight of the most consisting and remarkable societal aspect of 5G. This is the scope in the background of this paper. 5G represents a challenge for ethics and the value-based discus- sion on technologies since it demonstrates how important it is that the social acceptability of emerging and disruptive technologies passes through the participation of people who at the same time should form rational and shared models of judgment, reactivating the subjunctive link between democracy and science

Privacy and security aspects of 5G technology

This study describes two main dimensions of 5G technology, i.e. privacy and security. This research paper focuses on the analysis of cybersecurity risks and threats, privacy challenges and 5G technology opportunities at EU level and worldwide, as well as the relationship between cybersecurity risks and privacy issues. The methodological framework for this assessment of the impact of 5G technology is built on three pillars: (i) a document-based analysis; (ii) a parallel analysis with stakeholder involvement; and (iii) a selection of relevant case studies. The complexity of the 5G ecosystem, where new use cases are constantly emerging, also led the authors to assess the prospects of using new 5G-enabled technologies, such as the internet-of-things, robotics and AI. Moreover, policy options are defined and put forward for consideration by the European Parliament's Committees on Legal Affairs, Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, as well as by other EU institutions and the Member States

The PoSeID-on Blockchain-based platform meets the “right to be forgotten”

Adoption of disruptive technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, is more and more raising citizens’ suspiciousness based on (i) lack of trusted information, (ii) perception of intrusiveness on privacy and human rights, (iii) disrespect of legal obligations (including GDPR), and (iv) misalignment and lack of cross-fertilization between technology and legal experts. This paper aims at demonstrating how the technology is not a per se issue, as it can be used to create an ecosystem which can deliver a significant and measurable value to citizens and customers and the whole community. In this perspective, this paper describes the legal framework, the method and the results that are behind the compliance analysis of the Blockchain-based platform developed within the context of the PoSeID-on project. The paper, in order to identify the ethics and legal requirements used to perform the assessment of the PoSeID-on technology, introduces the ethics and regulatory framework on human rights, privacy, and data protection. The procedure for the assessment of the technology is described as well. An overview of the Poseidon project and its implemented Blockchain-based platform allows the reader to fully understand the objectives of the project, as well as the peculiarity of the specific implemented technology that has been designed to overcome many obstacles (e.g. regulation compliancy, individuals and organizations trust, investment size). Consequently, the paper describes the results of the compliance assessment performed on the PoSeID-on Blockchain-based platform. The paper concludes by showing that important aspects such as trustworthiness and sustainability can definitely contribute to improve the social acceptance of disruptive technologies, such as the PoSeID-on one, and consequently their wide adoption

Spatiotemporal Correlation Spectroscopy Reveals a Protective Effect of Peptide-Based GLP-1 Receptor Agonism against Lipotoxicity on Insulin Granule Dynamics in Primary Human β-Cells

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists are being used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and may have beneficial effects on the pancreatic β-cells. Here, we evaluated the effects of GLP-1R agonism on insulin secretory granule (ISG) dynamics in primary β-cells isolated from human islets exposed to palmitate-induced lipotoxic stress. Islets cells were exposed for 48 h to 0.5 mM palmitate (hereafter, ‘Palm’) with or without the addition of a GLP-1 agonist, namely 10 nM exendin-4 (hereafter, ‘Ex-4’). Dissociated cells were first transfected with syncollin-EGFP in order to fluorescently mark the ISGs. Then, by applying a recently established spatiotemporal correlation spectroscopy technique, the average structural (i.e., size) and dynamic (i.e., the local diffusivity and mode of motion) properties of ISGs are extracted from a calculated imaging-derived Mean Square Displacement (iMSD) trace. Besides defining the structural/dynamic fingerprint of ISGs in human cells for the first time, iMSD analysis allowed to probe fingerprint variations under selected conditions: namely, it was shown that Palm affects ISGs dynamics in response to acute glucose stimulation by abolishing the ISGs mobilization typically imparted by glucose and, concomitantly, by reducing the extent of ISGs active/directed intracellular movement. By contrast, co-treatment with Ex-4 normalizes ISG dynamics, i.e., re-establish ISG mobilization and ability to perform active transport in response to glucose stimulation. These observations were correlated with standard glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), which resulted in being reduced in cells exposed to Palm but preserved in cells concomitantly exposed to 10 nM Ex-4. Our data support the idea that GLP-1R agonism may exert its beneficial effect on human β-cells under metabolic stress by maintaining ISGs’ proper intracellular dynamics

Germania et Italia. Liber amicorum Hubert Houben

Il volume - in due tomi - consta di 51 contributi opera di 52 studiosi, per lo più italiani e tedeschi (ma anche un inglese ed un israeliano). E una raccolta di saggi in omaggio del prof. Hubert Houben (insigne storico medievista ed accademico dei Lincei). Il testo, corredato di un elenco completo delle pubblicazioni di Hubert Houben, inaugura la collana "Medietas" del Centro Studi Medievali di Unisalento

Plankton dynamics across the freshwater, transitional and marine research sites of the LTER-Italy Network. Patterns, fluctuations, drivers

A first synoptic and trans-domain overview of plankton dynamics was conducted across the aquatic sites belonging to the Italian Long-Term Ecological Research Network (LTER-Italy). Based on published studies, checked and complemented with unpublished information, we investigated phytoplankton and zooplankton annual dynamics and long-term changes across domains: from the large subalpine lakes to mountain lakes and artificial lakes, from lagoons to marine coastal ecosystems. This study permitted identifying common and unique environmental drivers and ecological functional processes controlling seasonal and long-term temporal course. The most relevant patterns of plankton seasonal succession were revealed, showing that the driving factors were nutrient availability, stratification regime, and freshwater inflow. Phytoplankton and mesozooplankton displayed a wide interannual variability at most sites. Unidirectional or linear long-term trends were rarely detected but all sites were impacted across the years by at least one, but in many case several major stressor(s): nutrient inputs, meteo-climatic variability at the local and regional scale, and direct human activities at specific sites. Different climatic and anthropic forcings frequently co-occurred, whereby the responses of plankton communities were the result of this environmental complexity. Overall, the LTER investigations are providing an unparalleled framework of knowledge to evaluate changes in the aquatic pelagic systems and management options