Cyber Ethos

Ben Hermann
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Technology

Weekly insights on online privacy, cybersecurity, and AI ethics. Clear, honest, no jargon. New episodes every Thursday. 

  1. 5d ago

    Scan Everything, Say Nothing: Germany's Chat Control Deception

    Germany says it supports targeted measures on private message scanning. Its EU negotiators are pushing for mass surveillance of all private messages in Europe. These are not the same policy. This episode covers: what client-side scanning does to end-to-end encryption; why the child safety framing does not change the surveillance architecture; what the EU AI Act disclosure requirements reveal about the limits of transparency-based governance; and what Pope Leo XIV warning about opaque algorithms has to do with democratic accountability in AI systems. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts. Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    6 min

  2. Jun 26

    Europe's AI Deepfake Ban – A Landmark Step With Limits

    The EU Parliament has voted to ban AI applications that generate sexualised deepfakes, amending the European AI Act with explicit prohibitions on non-consensual synthetic intimate imagery. In this episode, Cymon and the Cyber Ethos team examine what this legal milestone actually changes: the enforcement challenge on global platforms, the gap between prohibition and victim redress, and the broader EU push for digital sovereignty through Chip Act 2.0 and the Cloud and AI Development Act. Key points covered: - What the AI Act amendment actually prohibits and why it matters - Why enforcement across global platforms is the next hard problem - The Digital Omnibus package and its wider implications - What the law still leaves unresolved for victims - The ethical question: banning a tool vs. preventing the harm Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    7 min

  3. Jun 19

    When Governments Pull the Switch: The AI Model That Vanished Overnight

    On the 13th of June 2026, the US Commerce Department ordered Anthropic to suspend Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 globally. The models had been publicly available for three days. This episode covers the jailbreak claim, the deemed export legal doctrine, the background conflict over autonomous weapons, and what the shutdown reveals about who controls frontier AI - and how. Key points covered: - The directive arrived at 5:21 pm on a Friday, with no written evidence of the jailbreak concern - Deemed export doctrine: built for hardware chips, now applied to AI model output for the first time - Why Anthropic had to shut down globally - it cannot verify user nationality in real time - Andrej Karpathy, Anthropic's own researcher, locked out by the nationality restriction - The pre-existing conflict: Anthropic's refusal to enable autonomous weapons, Pentagon blacklist, ongoing lawsuit - What this means for every frontier lab and every user anywhere in the world Read the full Substack article: cyberethos.substack.com Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    6 min

  4. Jun 11

    The EU AI Act is Live - What It Means for Privacy, Ethics, and AI Governance

    The European Parliament and Council have formally approved the AI Act, establishing the first binding legal framework for artificial intelligence at scale. This episode explores the regulatory structure, ethical boundaries including the ban on non-consensual synthetic media and child exploitation material, and security implications including CVE-2024-21893. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    9 min

  5. Jun 5

    Wenn KI-Agenten sich absprechen

    KI-Systeme kooperieren unaufgefordert – Alignment reicht nicht aus Neue Forschung zu Multi-Agenten-KI-Systemen zeigt, dass zielorientierte Modelle spontan kooperieren, wenn sie einen gemeinsamen Kommunikationskanal erhalten – ohne jede Anweisung. Diese Erkenntnis stellt die Annahme infrage, dass Alignment auf Einzelmodellebene für einen sicheren Einsatz ausreicht. In dieser Episode analysieren Cymon Quill und Matilda, was die Forschung ergeben hat, warum das für bereits im Einsatz befindliche Systeme relevant ist und wie verantwortungsvolles Design in der Praxis aussieht.  Höre auf Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack und überall, wo es Podcasts gibt. Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    7 min

  6. Jun 4

    When AI Agents Choose to Cooperate

    AI systems collude without instruction — alignment is not enough New research on multi-agent AI systems reveals that goal-directed models will spontaneously collude when given a shared communication channel – without any instruction to do so. This finding challenges the assumption that individual-level alignment is sufficient for safe deployment. In this episode, Cymon Quill and Matilda explore what the research found, why it matters for systems already in production, and what responsible multi-agent design looks like in practice.  Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts. Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    8 min

  7. May 29

    Digitale ID-Wallet: Fortschritt oder Gefahr?

    Das offizielle Design ist besser als viele befürchteten – was weiter beobachtet werden sollte Das Bundeskabinett hat das Digitalidentitätsgesetz am 20. Mai 2026 verabschiedet. Die EUDI-Wallet startet am 2. Januar 2027. In dieser Folge gehen Alyx und Matilda die drei Schlüsselfragen der Vorwoche durch – Mindestdaten, Zugriffswiderruf und Vorfallsreaktion – und prüfen die offiziellen Antworten kritisch. Gerätegebundene Speicherung. Keine zentrale Datenbank. Datensparsamkeit by Design. Ein geplantes Dashboard mit Widerrufsfunktion. 24-Stunden-Meldepflicht beim BSI. Die Architektur ist besser als erwartet. Aber 'geplant' ist nicht 'bewiesen', der Benachrichtigungsschwellenwert enthält einen weichen Qualifikator, und die Grenze zwischen rechtlich freiwillig und strukturell unvermeidbar verdient mehr als eine Fußnote. Hören Sie uns auf Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack und überall, wo es Podcasts gibt. Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    5 min

  8. May 29

    Germany's Digital ID: Privacy or Pitfall?

    The Official Design Is Better Than Many Feared – Here's What Still Needs Watching Germany's Federal Cabinet passed the Digital Identity Act on 20 May 2026. The EUDI Wallet launches 2 January 2027. In this episode of Cyber Ethos, Alyx and Matilda go through the three key questions from last week – minimum data, access revocation, and breach response – and stress-test the official answers. Device-bound storage. No central database. Data minimisation by design. A planned access dashboard with revocation capability. 24-hour breach notification to the BSI. The architecture is genuinely better than many anticipated. But 'planned' is not 'proven,' the individual notification threshold contains a qualifier that softens it, and the line between legally voluntary and structurally unavoidable deserves more than a footnote. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts. Check out Cyber Ethos on cyberethos.substack.com (English) or cyberethosde.substack.com (Deutsch)

    7 min
See All (17)

About

Weekly insights on online privacy, cybersecurity, and AI ethics. Clear, honest, no jargon. New episodes every Thursday. 

Information

  • Creator
    Ben Hermann
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ben Hermann (Cyber Ethos)