Online SW-Forum

The combination of Edge Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to reshape how data is processed in today's rapidly evolving technological environment, particularly in the context of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. But why is this combination so important, and how will it affect technology in the future?

S1/E15: Bonus Episode # 2 – The EU Ninth Framework Programme for Research and Innovation: Horizon Europe

S1/E14: Bonus Episode – The EU Cybersecurity Resilience Act

S1/E13: Wrapping up

Here we are! All good things come to an end. Time to bid farewell…

S1/E12: AI: You’d better do no harm

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have emerged as powerful tools in several domains, bringing huge changes to software development. LLMs are now used by developers to help write code and are integrated into apps and services. Similarly, other machine learning models are commonly integrated into websites and apps, either being developed and trained from scratch using proprietary data, or leveraging third party machine learning tools.

In recent months, large language models (LLMs) have gained great popularity thanks to their ability to generate human-like text and code, and tools based on them are being implemented in more and more systems. However, with such impressive capabilities comes the potential for abuse and misuse: for instance, when Microsoft originally released Bing Chat, an AI-powered chatbot somewhat similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it didn’t take long until users found ways to break it.

S1/E11: The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act: Let the fight, I mean, the negotiations begin

Welcome to Part 3 of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act in this blog series!

In this episode I’ll give you hints about the official positions taken by the Council of the European Union (EU), or the EU Council, on one side, and by the European Parliament (EP), on the other side, with respect to the European Commission’s (EC) proposal for the AI Act.

In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, it’s easy to assume that tech giants like OpenAI and Google hold a competitive advantage that will never fade away.

S1/E10: The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act – The EC proposal

The development and widespread use of large language models, such as the constantly mentioned GPT-4 and Bard, have the capabilities to revolutionise a variety of domains, and software development is at the forefront of this.

Ensuring the correctness of code is a top priority. Traditionally, the dominant approach has been test-driven development (TDD), which consists in writing tests to validate the code after it has been written. The core idea is to provide examples of desired behaviour (in the form of tests), and check the code output against them.

S1/E9: The difficult art of regulating magic. I mean, technology

As Arthur C. Clarke purportedly said, Magic is just science that we don’t understand yet. And as my son, about four years old, once told me, Look dad, I’m super intelligent! 2+2=4!

S1/E8: Data in the European Union – a matter of Knowledge, Intelligence, and Wisdom?

After discussing EU policies and legislation that regulate the Software Industry in areas like personal data processing, cybersecurity, and Big-Tech services and competition, this episode will turn our attention to probably the most essential component of the software world, namely data. Yes, in general.

Education is a privileged knowledge domain for UNESCO and also an area where Artificial Intelligence is expected to have great impact, but also where much polemic is taking place.

Programming is not about typing, it’s about thinking- Rich Hickey

Programming languages, integral to the software that shapes our digital reality, have traversed an impressive journey of evolution. This evolution, marked by remarkable innovation, has significantly reshaped software development. This post will explore the compelling history of programming languages and their profound influence on the software industry.

In the current era, technology and artificial intelligence are playing a pivotal role in transforming many industries and domains, and education and the learning landscape are no exceptions.

S1/E7: The Digital Services Act and the new notions of VLOP and VLOSE – Part 2

Greetings for the Part 2 of the Digital Services Act (DSA)!

There is no future of IT operations that does not include AIOps. This is due to the rapid growth in data volumes and pace of change (exemplified by rate of application delivery and event-driven business models) that cannot wait on humans to derive insights. -Gartner AIOps Market Guide for AIOps Platforms 2021

Documentation is a love letter that you write to your future self. - Damian Conway, a prominent contributor to the Perl community.

When we delve into software development, we often focus on coding, testing, and debugging. However, another crucial player in the development process deserves our undivided attention – a component as vital as the software code itself: software documentation.

S1/E6: The Digital Services Act and the new notions of VLOP and VLOSE – Part 1

Welcome to a new episode or our series, which explains selected European Union (EU) policies and laws that were recent proposed/applied, and which impact the Software Industry! Today I’m going to explore the very recent Digital Services Act, or DSA.

In the current age, fake news has become a pervasive issue, spreading misinformation and manipulating public opinion. Social media and online news platforms have always been affected by fake news -- on twitter, it was shown that false news travel faster than true stories -- and this made some form of fake news detection mechanism paramount.

Rare diseases affect a significant portion of the population, with over 7000 rare diseases collectively affecting more than 400 million people worldwide. The majority of these diseases fall under the category of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Patients with rare diseases face numerous challenges, including misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and a lack of available treatment options. These challenges are exacerbated by the limited data and information available about these diseases.

Some say that “a good image is worth a thousand words” and, either we agree with this or not, data visualization has a very important impact in the communication of otherwise difficult to handle information as, e.g., large tables or multidimensional comparisons. Some could argue that even in the foundations of mathematics, this is an important role of Geometry in its relation to Algebra.

As we hurtle forward into a future where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming omnipresent, our conventional project management methods are being tested. These traditional systems, designed for a simpler time, are often found wanting in the face of AI projects' dynamic and exploratory nature. Here, Agile methodology steps in, bridging the gap and bringing a new level of efficiency and adaptability.

S1/E5: The Digital Markets Act and the new notion of Gatekeepers

In this episode and the next, we’ll talk about a set of very recent twin EU legislations: The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, which also have a large impact on the Software Industry, more specifically on the so-called Big-Tech and their relationships with consumers and competitors.

As technology advances, we often hear terms like 'Artificial Intelligence,' 'Machine Learning,' and 'Deep Learning' thrown around in discussions. While these words might seem daunting for a layperson, fear not! This post aims to demystify deep learning, breaking it down in an easily digestible way for everyone.

“Tracking progress is getting increasingly hard, because progress is accelerating. This progress is unlocking things critical to economic and national security –and if you don’t skim [papers] each day, you will miss important trends that your rivals will notice and exploit.” ​Jack Clarke Cofounder at Anthropic, Former Policy Director at OPENAI​

Associated with the overwhelming digital transformation of most industries, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world in numerous ways, from healthcare and transportation to entertainment and education. However, the sense of losing the Human common sense to the automation of the machine brings up one issue that has arisen with the increasing use of AI: the problem of bias.

There were 5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of civilization through 2003, but that much information is now created every two days. -Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman at Google

In today's digital age vast amounts of data are constantly being generated and processed, for every action we complete on our devices, and this has made privacy a paramount concern. Indeed, machine learning algorithms thrive on large datasets, and it was often the case that user privacy was ignored for the sake of having more advanced algorithms and models.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved remarkably since its conceptual beginnings in the mid-20th century. From ELIZA, the first Natural Language Processing (NLP) program developed in the 1960s, to today's advanced models like GPT-4, AI's journey is a testament to human innovation. The birth of AI can be traced back to the 1950s and 60s. At this time, AI was a fledgling field, exploring the possibilities of machines that could mimic human intelligence.

Picture this scenario: you have just made some changes on your web application, and would like to know how effective they are in improving the users' experience. One option is to wait until a satisfactory number of users have interacted with the new version of the web application and compare their behaviour with the average user behaviour before the changes were implemented, but this raises two issues:

Phishing attacks are a type of cyber attack that involve tricking a victim into divulging sensitive information, such as passwords, usernames, or credit card numbers. There are several different types of phishing attacks, each with its own unique characteristics and methods of operation. In this article, we'll explore the most common types of phishing attacks and how to recognize and avoid them.

A buffer overflow is a type of cyber attack that occurs when a program or system tries to store more data in a buffer than it was designed to handle. This type of attack is often used by hackers to gain unauthorized access to a system, execute malicious code, or crash a system. In this article, we will discuss buffer overflow cyber attacks in detail, including how they work, common attack vectors, and how to prevent them.

What is a Buffer Overflow?

As the world becomes more aware of the impacts of climate change, there is a growing need for businesses to adopt more sustainable practices. One area where the ecological transition is particularly important is logistics, where companies can significantly reduce their carbon footprint by optimizing their supply chains and transportation networks. More than 90% of the transport of goods is made by sea, something to think about whenever we are about to finalize an online shopping that most probably will require international shipping.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on public health, with millions of people worldwide affected by the virus. In response, governments, healthcare providers, and researchers have been using a range of tools and technologies that were built on innovation that was often refocused from the original objectives or assembled from existing tools and libraries, to provide insight on the evolution of the pandemic, manage the spread of the virus and improve public health outcomes.

Cybersecurity is of utmost importance for gas networks, as they are critical infrastructure systems that can have serious consequences if compromised. Here are some key considerations for cybersecurity in gas networks:

1. Risk assessment: Gas networks should perform a comprehensive risk assessment to identify all potential vulnerabilities and risks associated with their systems. This should include an evaluation of their hardware, software, and network infrastructure.

S1/E4: The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre and the Network of National Coordination Centres

As a continuation of our series about EU policies and regulations that heavily impact the art of software design and the businesses of software development and deployment, today we’re going to read about the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre.

As industries become more reliant on technology and interconnected devices, cyber security has become an increasingly important concern for industrial manufacturing companies. The potential impact of a cyber attack on a manufacturing facility can be significant, including downtime, loss of production, reputational damage, and even physical harm to employees.

If you’ve been following the news or at least reading our posts in this SWForum.eu discussion, you’ve noticed that Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming our world in a variety of ways, from healthcare and transportation to finance and entertainment. The drivers of change are often deep learning algorithms with enormous potential.  However, as AI becomes more advanced, it is also becoming more complex and difficult to understand.

In today's digital age, cybersecurity has become an essential part of every organization's operations. Cyber-attacks have the potential to cause massive damage to organizations, both in terms of financial losses and damage to reputation. While most organizations invest heavily in cybersecurity tools and technologies to protect their systems and data, human factors in cybersecurity are often overlooked. Human factors refer to the role that human behavior and psychology play in cybersecurity.

Human Factors in Cybersecurity

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work. It has already made significant advances in areas such as medicine, finance, and transportation. However, as with any powerful technology, there are potential dangers associated with the development and use of AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the world around us. It is already being used – and it has been used for several years – in a variety of domains and on a variety of tasks, from education to medical diagnosis, from personalized recommendations to content creation.

Recommender systems are a type of information filtering system that predict and recommend items that a user may be interested in. These systems are widely used in e-commerce, social media, online content platforms, and other domains where there is a large amount of content to be filtered and personalized recommendations can enhance user experience.

As technology continues to advance, cyber-attacks have become more prevalent, and the targets of such attacks have expanded to include power systems. A power system is a critical infrastructure that provides electricity to homes, businesses, and industries. A successful cyber attack on a power system could result in significant damage to the infrastructure, loss of life, and even economic collapse. In this post, we will discuss the potential consequences of cyber-attacking a power system and ways to prevent such attacks.

S1/E3: A little bit of gossip: Am I paranoid or there is indeed someone behind my laptop camera?

Art and performance,  have always been integral to human culture, providing a medium for expression, communication, and entertainment. In the past decades, these art expressions have been impacted by technology, from the digital avatars of the pop music of Gorillaz to the better and better special effects in the cinema, taking also part in circus, theater and dance performances.

Machine learning models have the potential to transform manufacturing by predicting equipment failures, optimizing production schedules, and identifying bottlenecks. However, to ensure the success of these applications, stakeholders must trust the models and their recommendations. Transparency and intelligibility are vital to building this trust, as they allow users to understand the rationale behind the model's decisions, ensuring that the AI-driven recommendations are reliable and justifiable.

In today's highly competitive business landscape, organizations continuously seek ways to optimize performance and minimize downtime. Maintenance can be broadly categorized into four main types, each with its unique approach to ensuring equipment efficiency and longevity. These include reactive maintenance, preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance (PdM), and condition-based maintenance. Reactive maintenance, also known as "run-to-failure" maintenance, involves repairing or replacing equipment only after it has failed.

Conventional log monitoring solutions rely on manual rule-based analysis, whereas newer AI techniques utilize Natural Language Processing to model log streams and detect normal operating patterns. However, combining the benefits of these dynamic and static monitoring methods can create a powerful automated system capable of identifying anomalous situations and potential security risks without requiring human intervention. In this article we explore the potential benefits of integrating both novel and well-established techniques, in the context of an often conservative domain.

Moving Target Defense (MTD) is a cybersecurity approach that aims to increase the resilience of computer systems and networks by continuously changing the attack surface or defense profile. This approach involves dynamically changing the system's configuration, topology, or behavior to prevent attackers from gaining access, detecting vulnerabilities, or launching successful attacks. The objective of MTD is to make it more difficult and time-consuming for attackers to exploit system weaknesses, thereby reducing the chances of a successful attack.

False data injection attacks are a type of cyber attack that targets data systems and networks by introducing malicious or incorrect data into the system. This attack is a form of data poisoning that aims to compromise the integrity of data and can lead to serious consequences such as data loss, theft, and manipulation. False data injection attacks can be carried out in various ways and can target different types of systems, including industrial control systems, financial systems, and healthcare systems.

Virtual assistants have become increasingly popular over the past decade, and are now an integral part of our lives. From Apple’s Siri to Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, the most popular digital assistants are generally voice-activated and can be employed for a variety of purposes, such as managing our calendars, starting playlists, and conducting online searches.

S1/E2: The General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union – It’s good to be a EU citizen

The most damaging phrase in the language is “It’s always been done this way.”

Grace Hopper

Water is a vital resource essential for life and indispensable for many industrial and agricultural activities, determining one of the UN/s sustainable development goals being a priority for most governments worldwide. Preceding the UN Congress on Water we discuss how the management of water resources has become a critical concern, and AI and business intelligence have emerged as powerful tools for improving water management.

"The Time we learn what to unlearn is the time we grow up." - Bishmeet Singh

Most of the time, we think that big data is better data. This can be correct in some cases, but we all know the importance of quality data and how hard to obtain it. Even though we cleaned our data, the dataset could still contain inaccurate entries. As a result, they reduce the performance of our machine-learning models. This is an unwanted situation, but there could be worse.

(S1/E1)

Why (and how) everyone and their neighbour in the Software Sector should be aware of European Union legislation

Quantum computers are a type of computing technology that uses quantum mechanics principles to perform computations. Unlike classical computers, which use binary digits (bits) to represent information as either 0 or 1, quantum computers use quantum bits (qubits) that can be in superposition, meaning they can represent both 0 and 1 at the same time. The development of a fully functional quantum computer is an active area of research, and while significant progress has been made, it is difficult to predict exactly when a working quantum computer will be available.

Cybersecurity has become one of the most critical aspects of modern-day technology. With the increasing reliance on technology in power systems, cyber-attacks pose a significant risk to the reliability and security of the power grid. Cybersecurity threats have become more sophisticated and complex, leading to significant damages, including blackouts, financial losses, and theft of sensitive information. Therefore, there is a need to understand the cyber security concerns for power systems to develop effective measures to mitigate cyber-attacks.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed many industries, and the possibilities of what it can achieve continue to expand.

With the rapid digital transformation across industries, AI is rapidly transforming workflows and competences, from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and transportation. However, as AI becomes more advanced and widespread, there are growing concerns about the ethical implications of its use. In recent years, there has been a significant focus on the current state of AI and ethics, with many experts highlighting the need for ethical guidelines and standards to ensure that AI is used in a responsible and fair manner.

"Data is like garbage. You'd better know what you are going to do with it before you collect it." - Mark Twain

Cybersecurity in the medical device industry is a growing concern as technology continues to advance and devices become more interconnected. While medical devices have brought about significant improvements in patient care and outcomes, they are also vulnerable to cyberattacks, which could have severe consequences for patients and healthcare providers alike. In this article, we will explore some of the major cybersecurity concerns in the medical device sector and discuss some potential solutions to address them.

Self-driving cars, also known as autonomous vehicles (AV), are the future of transportation. They offer convenience, safety, and efficiency to their users. However, as with any technology that is connected to the internet, self-driving cars are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity is essential for self-driving cars to be safe and reliable. In this post, we will discuss self-driving car cybersecurity and the measures that can be taken to ensure the safety of these vehicles.

Once again the disruptive advances of scientific and technological innovation make the headlights. And like an information avalanche, it fills most communication channels, from blogs and social media to youtube tutorials and webinars, with the fantastic potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it can change our lives forever. In fact, AI has been between us for a while now, optimizing the operations we do every day at home, at work, and in our cars (even though they are not yet flying or driving on their own, but that has little to do with AI).

We are organising a webinar on 10 October 2022 at 14:30 CEST and will focus on leveraging open source technologies for better services in the European software ecosystem.

SWForum.eu works to enhance the visibility and increase the competitiveness of research and innovation in the field of software technologies, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity, especially European-funded Research and Innovation Action (RIA) projects. Moreover, the project aims to introduce best practices and technology transfer opportunities to cross-synergise European excellence.

About the role on offer:

We are looking for an experienced software developer, who will both write code and own the development roadmap and technology choices of WeBuust going forward. The position offers significant equity compensation for a multi-year engagement as a WeBuust core team member (CTO) among other WeBuust owners. Passion and willingness for writing code is a must, as is a clear view for designing and planning of platform architecture.

CONTACT: info@webuust.com

About WeBuust:

Hello to everybody, I'm a web developer.

I'm working on a no-profit project called HomeForUkraine that should work like an Airbnb for war refugees, where people are the hoster and the "customers" are the no-profit organizations that have to find a temporary homes for war refugees.

The IEEE Software editorial argues that maybe we can achieve software quality without the concessions to “good enough” that we have become used to making in our work, despite the advances in software technology in recent years.

Can it be done? What are your thoughts on the challenges in software quality we are facing?

Read the full article here

Let us know what you think by replying to this post!

Important alliance in the Computing Continuum. Consider joining!

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/strategy/industrial-alliances/european-alliance-industrial-data-edge-and-cloud_en

The Open Source Observatory (OSOR) has the mission of promoting Free and Open Source Software in public administrations across and beyond Europe.

The DECODER project is building a software project intelligence platform. We are now offering two beta-testing campaigns for recent open source utilities:

The Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University is looking for a full-time Research Software Engineer to lead their participation in the SWForum.eu Horizon 2020 project.

The Cyberwatching.eu is pleased to share with you the Project Clustering page, where you could find and collaborate with the existing project clustering  around the cybersecurity and privacy community. Cyberwatching.eu has supported collaboration and mini-clusters between R&I projects focusing on cybersecurity solutions and best practices in vertical sectors and horizontal topics.