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seb

@sklovig.bsky.social
36 followers 51 following 81 posts

Data and Ethics Editor at Computer Weekly www.techtarget.com/contributor/Seba…

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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The government has rejected a suggestion from the Home Affairs Committee that the electronic visa system should move to a more stable, token-based process, rather than the current error-prone system that relies on real-time database checks www.computerweekly.com/news/3666507...
computerweekly.com
UK government defends ‘fundamentally flawed’ eVisa system | Computer Weekly
The government has rejected a suggestion from the Commons Home Affairs Committee that the electronic visa system should move to a more stable, token-based process, rather than the current error-prone ...
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computerweekly.bsky.social @computerweekly.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Technology and power have always gone hand in hand - but there is very much a better way, says Computer Weekly's ethics editor... 👉 [read]
CW@60: All computers are bastards
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computerweekly.bsky.social @computerweekly.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
‘Google is in the military kill chain’: Google DeepMind’s AI workers are attempting to unionise over ethical concerns around the provision of cloud and AI technologies to the US and Israeli militaries, but the company is pushing back... 👉 [read]
Inside Google AI worker’s union drive to instil company ethics
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Frontend Dogma @frontenddogma.com · 15/09/2026
Inside Google AI Worker’s Union Drive to Instil Company Ethics, by @sklovig.bsky.social (@computerweekly.bsky.social): www.computerweekly.com/news/3666502… #google #ai #ethics
computerweekly.com
Inside Google AI worker’s union drive to instil company ethics | Computer Weekly
‘Google is in the military kill chain’: Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence workers are attempting to unionise over ethical concerns around the provision of cloud and AI technologies to the US and Israeli militaries, but the company is pushing back
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
We were all asked to write a personal essay ahead of @computerweekly.bsky.social's 60th birthday later this month. This is my contribution - CW@60: All computers are bastards www.computerweekly.com/feature/CW60...
computerweekly.com
CW@60: All computers are bastards | Computer Weekly
I was initially hired to write about tech startups, but quickly found that bouncing around speaking to various companies about the next World-Changing Thing™ they were making was terribly repetitive a...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
I spoke with @valerieveatch.bsky.social, the director of a documentary charting the historical development of artificial intelligence, about the difficulties of challenging hype narratives and the pressing need to build a culture of technological refusal, for @computerweekly.bsky.social
computerweekly.com
Challenging AI hype narratives with director Valerie Veatch | Computer Weekly
Computer Weekly speaks with Valerie Veatch, the director of a documentary charting the historical development of artificial intelligence, about the difficulties of challenging hype narratives and the ...
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Apostolis Fotiadis @balkanizator.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Btw 2020 and 2021 Europol landed enormous volumes of data as a part of three mega-hack operations that dismantled encrypted communication systems. This would become the starting point of the agency's AI ambitions. New investigation out with @giacomoza.bsky.social and @stavinoha.bsky.social
computerweekly.com
Hungry for data: Inside Europol’s secretive AI programme | Computer Weekly
The EU’s law enforcement agency has been quietly amassing data to feed an ambitious but secretive artificial intelligence development programme that could have far-reaching privacy implications for pe...
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Giacomo Zandonini @giacomoza.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Shall we care about Europol? The answer is... Read our latest investigation to catch a glimpse about what the agency is doing to accelerate the AI transformation of policing across the EU, with minimal safeguards. www.computerweekly.com/news/3666344...
computerweekly.com
Hungry for data: Inside Europol’s secretive AI programme | Computer Weekly
The EU’s law enforcement agency has been quietly amassing data to feed an ambitious but secretive artificial intelligence development programme that could have far-reaching privacy implications for pe...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Microsoft must immediately end any involvement with the “Israeli authorities’ systemic repression of Palestinians” and work to prevent its products or services being used to commit further “atrocity crimes”, civil society groups have urged www.computerweekly.com/news/3666328...
computerweekly.com
Microsoft admonished for role in facilitating Gaza genocide | Computer Weekly
Following credible allegations that Microsoft Azure was being used to facilitate mass surveillance and lethal force against Palestinians, which prompted the company to suspend services to the Israeli ...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
The UK’s policing minister has confirmed the government will consult on the use of live facial recognition by law enforcement before expanding its use throughout England, but so far, the technology has been deployed with minimal public debate or consultation www.computerweekly.com/news/3666323...
computerweekly.com
UK government to consult on police live facial recognition use | Computer Weekly
The UK’s policing minister has confirmed the government will consult on the use of live facial recognition by law enforcement before expanding its use throughout England, but so far, the technology ha...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
More than 190 internet shutdowns have been recorded in 41 African countries since 2016, the African Digital Rights Network has found, as governments across the continent seek to normalise the use of digital blackouts to suppress dissent www.computerweekly.com/news/3666318...
computerweekly.com
Internet shutdowns in Africa on upward trajectory | Computer Weekly
A comparative analysis of internet shutdowns in African countries highlights how the tactic is increasingly used to repress dissent and political opposition, depriving millions of people and businesse...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Policing data hosted in Microsoft’s hyperscale cloud infrastructure could be processed in more than 100 countries, but the tech giant is obfuscating this information from its customers, Computer Weekly can reveal. www.computerweekly.com/news/3666320...
computerweekly.com
Microsoft hides key data flow information in plain sight | Computer Weekly
Microsoft’s own documentation confirms that data hosted in its hyperscale cloud architecture routinely traverses the globe, but the tech giant is actively obfuscating this vital information from its U...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
“MS is unable to specify what data originating from SPA will be processed outside the UK for support functions,” said the SPA in a detailed DPIA created for its use of O365. “To try and mitigate this risk, SPA asked to see … [the transfer risk assessments]. MS declined to provide the assessments.”
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Without this information, the policing bodies are unable to satisfy the law enforcement-specific data protection rules laid out in Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18), which places strict limits on the transfer of policing data outside the UK.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Microsoft is refusing to tell Scottish policing bodies where and how the sensitive law enforcement data uploaded to its cloud services will be processed, citing “commercial confidentiality” www.computerweekly.com/news/3666298...
computerweekly.com
Microsoft refuses to divulge data flows to Police Scotland | Computer Weekly
Tech giant Microsoft is refusing to divulge key information to Police Scotland about where the sensitive data it uploads to Office 365 will be processed, leaving the force unable to comply with UK-wid...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
The European Commission has been ignoring calls to reassess Israel’s data adequacy status for over a year, despite “urgent concerns” about the country’s data protection framework and conduct in Gaza www.computerweekly.com/news/3666282...
computerweekly.com
European Commission ignores calls to reassess Israel data adequacy | Computer Weekly
The European Commission is ignoring calls to reassess Israel’s data adequacy status in spite of concerns raised about its data protection framework and use of personal data in ‘repressive practices’.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
The European Commission has been ignoring calls to reassess Israel’s data adequacy status for over a year, despite “urgent concerns” about the country’s data protection framework and conduct in Gaza www.computerweekly.com/news/3666282...
computerweekly.com
European Commission ignores calls to reassess Israel data adequacy | Computer Weekly
The European Commission is ignoring calls to reassess Israel’s data adequacy status in spite of concerns raised about its data protection framework and use of personal data in ‘repressive practices’.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
“Entities that previously enabled and profited from Palestinian elimination and erasure within the economy of occupation, instead of disengaging are now involved in the economy of genocide.”
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
“After October 2023, long-standing systems of control, exploitation and dispossession metamorphosed into economic, technological and political infrastructures mobilised to inflict mass violence and immense destruction,” she said.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
She said that if the companies supplying these technologies had conducted the proper human rights due diligence – including IBM, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Palantir – they would have divested “long ago” from involvement in Israel’s illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
In an investigative report examining “the role of corporate entities in sustaining the illegal Israeli occupation and its ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza”, Francesca Albanese outlined the key role the technology sector plays in “sustaining the Israeli settler-colonial project"
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Technology firms globally are actively “aiding and abetting” Israel’s “crimes of apartheid and genocide” against Palestinians, said United Nations special rapporteur in an urgent call for the companies to cease their business activities in the region www.computerweekly.com/news/3666269...
computerweekly.com
Tech firms complicit in ‘economy of genocide’, says UN rapporteur | Computer Weekly
A UN special rapporteur has called for technology firms operating in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to immediately halt their activities, in wider report about the role corporate enti...
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Elke Schwarz @elkeschwarz.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
A good overview of the thorny implications of the newly enlisted tech execs as reservists by @sklovig.bsky.social with commentary by the excellent @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social and myself.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Predictive policing technologies infringe human rights “at their heart” and should be prohibited in the UK, argues Green MP Siân Berry, after tabling an amendment to the government’s forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill www.computerweekly.com/news/3666266...
computerweekly.com
MPs propose ban on predictive policing | Computer Weekly
MPs are attempting to amend the UK government’s forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill so that it prohibits the use of controversial predictive policing systems.
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Sophia Goodfriend @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
I was glad to speak with @sklovig.bsky.social about the militarisation of the US’ AI industry It’s an important look at how Silicon Valley is working with the Trump admin to turbocharge AI weapons development
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Includes comment from @elkeschwarz.bsky.social and @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social, who kindly took time out of their days to speak with me about the developments and share their insights
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Four Silicon Valley executives have been recruited into a specialist tech-focused unit of the US Army Reserves in a bid to “bridge the commercial-military tech gap” and make the armed forces “more lethal.” www.computerweekly.com/news/3666266...
computerweekly.com
Silicon Valley execs sworn in to US Army reserves specialist unit | Computer Weekly
Four technology executives have been brought into the military fold with an explicit remit to make the Armed Forces “more lethal,” reflecting the softening attitudes throughout the sector towards “the...
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
refreshing to find out that some bombs are too unseemly to drop
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Chris Boyd @paperghost.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
v cool how everyone told the home office this would suck, and they did it anyway and scrapped the physical residency cards as a bonus
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
In one case that was reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the technical errors with data held by the Home Office were so severe that it found a breach of UK data protection law
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Each also described how the “inordinate amount of stress” associated with not being able to reliably prove their immigration status has been made worse by a lack of responsiveness and help from the Home Office, which they accused of essentially leaving them in the lurch
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Those affected by the eVisa system’s technical failings told Computer Weekly, on condition of anonymity, that the entire experience has been “anxiety-inducing” and described how their lives had been thrust into “uncertainty” by the transition
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
UK error-prone eVisa system is ‘anxiety-inducing’ People having technical errors with the Home Office eVisa system explain the psychological toll of not being able to reliably prove their immigration status in the face of a hostile and unresponsive bureaucracy www.computerweekly.com/news/3666253...
computerweekly.com
UK’s error-prone eVisa system is ‘anxiety-inducing’ | Computer Weekly
People experiencing technical errors with the Home Office’s electronic visa system have spoken with Computer Weekly about the psychological toll of not being able to reliably prove their immigration s...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
The rapid proliferation of ‘biometric mass surveillance technologies’ throughout the UK’s public and private sectors is taking place without legal certainty or adequate safeguards for the public www.computerweekly.com/news/3666248...
computerweekly.com
UK biometric surveillance exists in ‘legal grey area’ | Computer Weekly
The rapid proliferation of ‘biometric mass surveillance technologies’ throughout the UK’s public and private sectors is taking place without legal certainty or adequate safeguards for the public.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Seven civil society organisations are calling on European Commissioner Michael McGrath to rescind the UK’s data adequacy status, citing major concerns around the country’s ongoing erosion of privacy and data rights www.computerweekly.com/news/3666253...
computerweekly.com
European Commission should rescind UK data adequacy | Computer Weekly
Civil society organisations have urged the European Commissioner to not renew the UK’s data adequacy, given the country’s growing divergence from European data protection standards
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Essex Police discloses ‘incoherent’ facial recognition assessment - an equality impact assessment of Essex Police LFR deployments is plagued by inconsistencies and poor methodology, undermining its claim that use of the tech will not be discriminatory www.computerweekly.com/news/3666244...
computerweekly.com
Essex Police discloses ‘incoherent’ facial recognition assessment | Computer Weekly
An equality impact assessment of Essex Police live facial recognition deployments is plagued by inconsistencies and poor methodology, undermining the forces claim that its use of the tech will not be ...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Electronic visa data and biometric technologies will be used by the UK’s immigration enforcement authorities to surveil migrants living in the country and to ‘tighten control of the border’, attracting strong criticism from migrant support groups www.computerweekly.com/news/3666238...
computerweekly.com
UK government outlines plan to surveil migrants with eVisa data | Computer Weekly
Electronic visa data and biometric technologies will be used by the UK’s immigration enforcement authorities to surveil migrants living in the country and tighten control of the border, attracting str...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
The MoJ is using one algorithm to predict people’s risk of reoffending and another to predict who will commit murder, but @statewatch.bsky.social says the profiling in these systems raises ‘serious concerns’ over racism, classism and data inaccuracies www.computerweekly.com/news/3666231...
computerweekly.com
UK MoJ crime prediction algorithms raise serious concerns | Computer Weekly
The UK Ministry of Justice is using one algorithm to predict people’s risk of reoffending and another to predict who will commit murder, but critics say the profiling involved in these systems raises ...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
AI surveillance towers place migrants in ‘even greater jeopardy’: The use of autonomous surveillance towers throughout the English coast is contributing to people's deaths in the English Channel @migrantsrights.bsky.social @samuelstorey.bsky.social www.computerweekly.com/news/3666223...
computerweekly.com
AI surveillance towers place migrants in ‘even greater jeopardy’ | Computer Weekly
The use of autonomous surveillance towers throughout the English coast forces migrants into increasingly dangerous routes and contributes to their criminalisation.
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
The Met Police is set deploy permanent live facial recognition cameras in Croydon from summer 2025, but local councillors say the decision – which has taken place with no community input – will further contribute the over-policing of Black communities www.computerweekly.com/news/3666223...
computerweekly.com
Met Police to deploy permanent facial recognition tech in Croydon | Computer Weekly
The Met Police is set deploy permanent live facial recognition cameras on street furniture in Croydon from summer 2025, but local councillors say the decision – which has taken place with no community...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Dozens of technology firms are continuing to put the lives and livelihoods of supply chain workers at risk by failing to meet even the most basic due diligence expectations around forced labour and human rights abuses, finds sectoral analysis www.computerweekly.com/news/3666218...
computerweekly.com
Tech sector still failing to rid supply chains of forced labour | Computer Weekly
KnowTheChain’s latest benchmark analysis of the IT sector’s efforts to address forced labour in supply chains shows there has been very little improvement in their due diligence practices over the las...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
The UK government says reforms to police data protection rules will help to simplify law enforcement data processing, but critics argue the changes will lower protection to the point where the UK risks losing its European data adequacy www.computerweekly.com/news/3666217...
computerweekly.com
UK law enforcement data adequacy at risk | Computer Weekly
The UK government says reforms to police data protection rules will help simplify law enforcement data processing, but critics argue the changes will lower protection to the point where the UK risks l...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
It is currently impossible to assess Police Scotland’s use of retrospective facial recognition for efficacy and fairness because the force does not collect meaningful information that would enable a proper evaluation www.computerweekly.com/news/3666209...
computerweekly.com
Scottish police hold almost no data on facial recognition use | Computer Weekly
It is currently impossible to assess Police Scotland’s use of retrospective facial recognition for efficacy and fairness because the force does not collect meaningful information that would enable a p...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Driving licence data could be used for police facial recognition www.computerweekly.com/news/3666205...
computerweekly.com
Driving licence data could be used for police facial recognition | Computer Weekly
The government’s new Crime and Policing Bill contains provisions that mean the secretary of state could allow police to access the UK driving licence database for use in facial recognition watchlists,...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
AI Action Summit review: Differing views cast doubt on AI’s ability to benefit whole of society www.computerweekly.com/news/3666204...
computerweekly.com
AI Action Summit review: Differing views cast doubt on AI’s ability to benefit whole of society | Computer Weekly
Governments, companies and civil society groups gathered at the third global AI summit discussed how the technology can be made to work for the benefit of everyone in society, but experts say competin...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
honestly, if you can't see why people would want to protect their identities from the state while protesting then we're never going to agree on this
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
I think any measures being introduced that limit the avenues for dissent should be opposed :) mask bans are an attempt to intimidate people out of participation in protests, which even the most milquetoast liberal would argue is vital for any democracy
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
"The bill bans the deliberate use of face coverings to conceal a person’s identity during a protest... criminalises the climbing of specified war memorials, making it clear that such disrespectful behaviour is unacceptable" = it'll be illegal to be cold and disrespectful? www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
Crime and Policing Bill: Overarching factsheet
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
A group of Kenyan data workers whose labour provides the ‘backbone’ of modern artificial intelligence systems set up the @datalabelers.bsky.social to improve their working conditions and raise awareness about the challenges they face www.computerweekly.com/news/3666193...
computerweekly.com
Kenyan AI workers form Data Labelers Association | Computer Weekly
A group of Kenyan data workers whose labour provides the ‘backbone’ of modern artificial intelligence systems set up the Data Labelers Association to improve their working conditions and raise awarene...
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seb @sklovig.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
UK police forces are “supercharging racism” through their use of automated “predictive policing” systems, as they are based on profiling people or groups before they have committed a crime, according to Amnesty International www.computerweekly.com/news/3666195...
computerweekly.com
UK police forces ‘supercharging racism’ with predictive policing | Computer Weekly
Amnesty International says predictive policing systems are "supercharging racism" in the UK by taking historically biased data to further target poor and racialised communities
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