Digital euro and privacy: what does the EU say?
Brussel·les proposa els pilars legals per garantir l’acceptació de l’euro digital i la seva coexistència amb els diners en efectiu. Els bancs comercials seran els encarregats de distribuir i limitar les quantitats d’aquesta divisa digital. Però respectaran la privacitat i l’anonimat dels ciutadans?
La Comissió Europea i el Banc Central Europeu han presentat un paquet de propostes legislatives per convèncer al Parlament Europeu i al Consell de la UE de donar suport al llançament de l’euro digital. Les autoritats europees justifiquen la necessitat d’una CBDC perquè cada vegada hi ha més ciutadans -un 55% segons les seves enquestes- que prefereixen pagar a través de mètodes electrònics.
Es tracta d’un conjunt de mesures que busquen oferir un mètode de pagament alternatiu i complementari als diners en efectiu per als ciutadans i les empreses. El Banc Central Europeu decidiria qui podrà fer servir l’euro digital, com es farà servir internacionalment, i els bancs comercials s’encarregarien de distribuir i limitar les quantitats d’aquesta nova divisa digital.
Per una banda, es vol garantir que els euros en efectiu continuïn sent accessibles i àmpliament acceptats per totes les persones i negocis de tota la zona euro i, per l’altra, s’estableix el marc legal per a un possible euro digital com a complement dels bitllets i monedes en euros, que serà d’acceptació obligatòria en els comerços de l’eurozona, “excepte entre comerciants molt petits que optin per no acceptar pagaments digitals”.
Tranquil·litzar als bancs i als ciutadans
Segons les autoritats europees, les propostes presentades permetrien als ciutadans emmagatzemar fins a 3.000 euros digitals en moneders segurs que garantiran la privacitat. “Tenir un moneder digital en euros recarregat en el telèfon -o un altre dispositiu- serà el mateix que tenir monedes i bitllets en la butxaca. Podràs pagar amb la mateixa facilitat. Ni tan sols serà necessari tenir connexió a Internet“, apuntava durant la roda de premsa Valdis Dombrovskis, vicepresident executiu de la Comissió, però afegia que “la quantitat estaria subjecta a un límit màxim com a manera de protegir l’estabilitat financera i evitar sortides substancials de diners dels bancs”.
En aquest context, la protecció de la privacitat és una de les qüestions que més preocupen a l’Eurocambra, a les associacions de consumidors i als ciutadans que van deixar comentaris durant el període de consulta pública del projecte. El vicepresident de la Comissió afirma que no hem de patir per la nostra privacitat i protecció de dades que “les dades personals estarien totalment protegides. Els bancs, ni tan sols el BCE, no veurien ni podrien rastrejar les dades o detalls personals de la gent. Els pagaments sense connexió oferirien un nivell de privacitat similar al que ofereix avui els diners en efectiu”.
Això, però, és un punt contenciós entre els proponents i crítics d’aquestes mesures legislatives. Mentre que possibilitar pagaments fora de línia per a petits imports, en els quals no quedin registrats les dades del pagador i el beneficiari, pot garantir un cert nivell de privacitat, la tecnologia permet reconstruir aquestes transaccions si les autoritats pertinents ho requereixen.
De la mateixa manera, no es pot garantir l’anonimat que ofereixen les transaccions en efectiu. Com admetia Christine Lagarde, presidenta del Banc Central Europeu, “L’anonimat total -com el que ofereix els diners en efectiu- no sembla una opció viable. Contravindria altres objectius de política pública, com garantir el compliment de les normes contra el blanqueig de capitals i lluitar contra el finançament del terrorisme. I també faria pràcticament impossible limitar l’ús de l’euro digital com a vehicle d’inversió”.
Centralització vs. descentralització
Tot i que l’euro digital podria ajudar a reduir l’economia submergida i el risc de frau gràcies a la completa traçabilitat sobre la major part de les transaccions, els governs tindrien un control sobre els nostres diners sense precedents. La qual cosa els permetria saber exactament com els gastem i els atorgaria la capacitat de parar pagaments o confiscar-los, com va passar amb les protestes dels camioners contra el govern canadenc.
En aquest context, les criptomonedes ofereixen una alternativa a la banca centralitzada controlada per l’Estat, democratitzant la creació de moneda mentre dilueixen el monopoli bancari tradicional. A més, en termes pràctics, la introducció de les CBDC no acaba de ser entesa del tot per una ciutadania que, de fet, ja fa transaccions digitals bancàries i en el comerç diàriament a través dels mètodes de pagament existents.
I és precisament en aquest punt, on la suposada necessitat d’introduir un nou mètode de pagament, o encara més important, on els conceptes de privacitat, anonimat i llibertat que ara tenim amb els diners físics i les criptodivises poden ser decisius en determinar si la proposta d’un euro digital no és res més que una solució a la recerca d’un problema -almenys pel que pertoca als interessos dels ciutadans- que està destinada al fracàs a no ser que sigui imposada per la força.
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The startup ecosystem in Catalonia, primarily located in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, continues to grow and consolidate the city as one of the leading technology hubs of innovation and digital entrepreneurship in Europe.
The development of the digital start-up ecosystem in Catalonia has turned Barcelona into a leading technology hub that attracts some of the top global companies. The synergy between public administration, universities, institutions and entrepreneurs has positioned the Catalan capital as the leading technology cluster in Southern Europe.
The latest report on the startup ecosystem in Catalonia by ACCIÓ identified a total of 1,902 startups in 2021 – a growth of 11.4% over the previous year – with a turnover of 1,710 million euros and employing 19,300 people. These figures confirm the upward trend seen in recent years of a digital ecosystem that thrives from its ability to attract talent and investors, and which the government hopes will reach 4,000 start-ups by 2030.
The maturity of the Catalan technology sector is evident in the study recently published by CaixaBank and IESE, confirming the leadership of Catalonia, which concentrates 18% of the startups in the whole of Spain, most of these in the counties of Barcelonès and Vallès Occidental.
An international and multicultural sector
Numerous studies confirm that cultural diversity has a positive impact on innovation, so it is not surprising that the success of many start-ups is closely linked to their ability to attract international talent, where entrepreneurs and employees from various backgrounds work in small teams driven by the same strategic objective.
In this sense, 26% of the employees and 17% of the founders of startups in Catalonia are foreigners. This trend is expected to increase, given that 73% of these start-ups have international clients, accounting for almost half of their turnover.
The support for digital entrepreneurship, the privileged location of Barcelona, the technological ecosystem of Catalonia, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Catalan culture have made it easier for startups to gain more and more points every day to take over a large part of the country’s business fabric, making Barcelona the second preferred hub in the European Union to create a startup.
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Since 2021, when the European Commission called for a feasibility study on the creation of an asset register for all citizens, alarmism in the alternative press and on social networks about the inevitable implementation of this asset register to have absolute control over the population has become the norm. What are the facts, beyond media sensationalism?
In the context of the fight against money laundering and tax evasion, in July 2021, the European Commission launched a tender for a feasibility study for a centralised European register of the assets of all its citizens.
This project aimed to analyse the feasibility of establishing an asset register that could later be discussed as a future policy initiative. Its objective was to study how to collect and link available information on asset ownership from various sources and Member States and to analyse the design, scope, and challenges of such an EU asset register.
In addition, the Commission requested that the study consider ‘the possibility of including in the register, data relating to the ownership of other assets, such as cryptocurrencies, works of art, real estate and gold’. The intention was to get an overview of the possible resources that would be needed to carry out such a registry, as well as the operational and IT challenges, and the political and legal feasibility of the proposal.
A call for civil resistance
As soon as the call for a tender was made public, harsh criticism emerged against the proposal, arguing that it represented a danger to the freedom and civil rights of European citizens. That these new measures were prescribed without sense or understanding and out of pure greed for power by the political caste.
This prompted an avalanche of questions in the European Parliament: on what legal basis does the Commission intend to set up this central register of assets, can the Commission rule out the possibility of additional taxes on EU citizens being introduced in future via this register, and does the Commission intend to bring the register into line with data protection legislation?
Rolf von Hohenhau, president of the Association of European Taxpayers (TAE), warned that ‘If citizens give their support, they will lose all their personal rights through a bureaucratic back door. Under the pretext of preventing money laundering, we will all be investigated’. And he instigated the population to ‘take to the streets like the yellow waistcoats in France.’
Dutch lawyer Ellen Timmer gave an analysis of the initiative and noted that ‘It is not explained why the asset registers held by the tax authorities are not sufficient and what additional value is to be expected from the new asset register.’ At the same time, social media exploded with content going viral warning about the European Commission’s plan.
Meanwhile, a Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV that ‘The feasibility study is in no way indicative of any plans to establish an EU-wide asset register’, adding that such a register was not included in the Commission’s package of legislative proposals to combat money laundering.
Sanctions against Russia
On 17 March 2022, the European Commission launched the Freeze and Seize Taskforce, to facilitate coordination between member state authorities in implementing sanctions against Russian and Belarusian oligarchs.
In this context, Theresa Neef, Gabriel Zucman and Thomas Piketty of the EU Fiscal Observatory and the Global Inequality Lab presented a proposal for a European Asset Register that would connect information on the ownership of European assets across the EU. In other words, supporting the European Commission’s project under the justification of strengthening sanctions against Russia.
The Greens/EFA party, on the other hand, was clearly in favour of this new regulation: ‘All EU countries should create registers with beneficial ownership information including all these types of assets. These registers would have to be interconnected and freely accessible through a single European access point’.
The study’s conclusions
In March 2024, the conclusions of the study requested by the European Commission were presented: ‘The creation of comprehensive registers denoting the ownership and value of assets, which are exhaustive and complete, proved mostly unfeasible from an operational point of view for this group of assets’.
Earlier, European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer had already clarified that: ‘The European Commission has no intention of establishing a central database on EU citizens’ assets. It is true that the Commission is currently carrying out a study at the request of the European Parliament on the practicality of registering assets to EU Member States. This general study only shows what mechanisms are in place in the 27 Member States. The Commission is not planning any activities based on the results of this study’.
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Brussels wants to secure the EU’s sovereignty by improving the autonomy, competitiveness and resilience of its industrial sector to reduce its dependence on other global players.
The EU’s industrial sector still accounts for more than 20 per cent of its economy, generates some 35 million jobs and is equivalent to 80 per cent of exported goods. Yet, it is in danger of lagging behind the world’s two major powers, China and the United States, which are promoting massive reindustrialisation processes.
The disruption of the raw materials and semiconductor supply value chains caused by the pandemic and the sanctions on Russia highlighted the need to reflect on how to promote reindustrialisation policies that guarantee the strategic autonomy of the 27 member states.
It was evident that the structural base in key sectors, such as dual-use high technology, energy supply, raw materials, rare earth and the defence industry, had to be strengthened while favouring the energy transition towards a new economic model less dependent on hydrocarbons.
Financing technological sovereignty and energy transition
In this context, the EU’s Next Generation funds were launched, a programme agreed as an economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and endowed with 800 billion euros to finance the digital and ecological transitions.
However, much of the allocation of this funding has been hampered by bureaucracy. By December 2023, only around 30% of available grants and loans had been disbursed, according to EU figures. This disastrous management of the programme’s aid is making it difficult to transform the economic model that was intended to be changed.
Also in December, EU ministers agreed to increase the production of green technologies through the Zero Emissions Industry Regulation. The aim is to cover 40% of the EU’s needs in strategic technology products, such as solar photovoltaic panels or wind turbines, to be able to compete with China.
Likewise, the “Chips for Europe” initiative was launched to boost the continent’s technological sovereignty, ensuring that Europe meets its digital decade target of doubling its share of the global semiconductor market to 20%. A project that has been reinforced by state initiatives such as Spain’s PERTE or Germany’s subsidies of more than 22 billion euros to semiconductor manufacturers to set up production plants in its territory.
Sovereignty means acting as a sovereign entity
One point that European institutions cannot ignore is that ensuring industrial sovereignty must not only be based on the use of subsidies but also a change of mindset in the geopolitical sphere. Europe needs to impose its own foreign policy rather than acting as an entity subservient to US economic interests.
The economic sanctions imposed by the US on Russia, Iran and China in recent decades, but especially on Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine, call into question the ‘cui bono’ behind the economic interests of the actors involved in these conflicts. These economic sanctions have greatly benefited the US and have had devastating consequences for the economies of EU member states.
The growing tensions between the United States and China are the prelude to a repetition of the geopolitical tug-of-war seen with Russia, which has led to war in Europe and has greatly damaged the European industrial sector. The European Union economic bloc has enough bargaining power to look after the interests of its industrial sector vis-à-vis the major global players, but this means facing up to an inescapable fact: the European Union will either act as a sovereign entity or it will cease to be.
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El Banc Central Europeu detecta deficiències fonamentals en la manera en què els bancs de l’eurozona aborden la ciberseguretat i avisa que estan perdent milions d’euros per culpa del cibercrim, sistemes de gestió antiquats i la baixa qualitat dels serveis tecnològics externalitzats.
El sector bancari ha introduït importants canvis tecnològics en els últims anys, especialment arran de la necessitat d’actualitzar-se davant del canvi de paradigma en la gestió de les finances que han esperonat les fintech. La inversió en tecnologies de la informació a la banca ha estat notablement superior a la de la majoria d’indústries, però aquesta transició cap a la digitalització de les finances per a millorar l’eficiència bancària no ha estat fàcil.
En aquest context, el Banc Central Europeu (BCE) ha realitzat una enquesta entre els bancs de l’eurozona que supervisa i ha dut a terme 22 inspeccions des de 2020 per a comprovar fins a quin punt estan preparats per a fer front al cibercrim. L’estudi del BCE deixa una imatge preocupant sobre la preparació del sector bancari europeu, arribant a la conclusió que els problemes són “més greus i generalitzats” del que es preveia.
Pel que fa a l’incompliment dels contractes per part dels serveis tecnològics externalitzats, l’enquesta feta per la institució de la UE indica que això ha comportat un cost addicional de 148 milions d’euros als bancs el 2022, un augment del 360% respecte a l’any anterior.
Tot i que el BCE explicava que aquestes pèrdues es deuen principalment per la manca de disponibilitat o mala qualitat dels serveis subcontractats, aquestes “es van concentrar en unes poques entitats significatives i, per tant, no indiquen una tendència sectorial”. Així mateix, constatava que “els acords de subcontractació dels bancs sovint no abordaven prou els requisits de seguretat informàtica”.
Es dupliquen les operacions fraudulentes a la banca espanyola
Segons l’últim informe del Banc d’Espanya, corresponent a 2022, les reclamacions per operacions fraudulentes han augmentat un 109,1%, duplicant-se des de l’any anterior. Concretament, es van tramitar 34.146 reclamacions en el Departament de Conducta d’Entitats del Banc d’Espanya.
La pràctica del phishing en destaca com una de les principals causes (10.361 de les denúncies) que hi ha al darrere de l’increment d’aquestes reclamacions sobre targetes i transferències, motivades per operacions presumptament fraudulentes. Recordem que el phishing consisteix a crear una pàgina web molt semblant a alguna que tu utilitzes normalment, per fer-t’hi entrar i robar-te certa informació.
A més, cal tenir en compte que durant el 2022 encara no hi havia peticions de clients sobre el nou Codi de Bones Pràctiques, que es va aprovar a la fi de l’exercici, i que ha fet augmentar les reclamacions en el 2023. Per entitats, CaixaBank, BBVA i Banc Santander són les que més reclamacions reben, gràcies a la seva major quota de mercat. En tot cas, en el conjunt europeu, el BCE avisa que aquests resultats “plantegen serioses preocupacions de supervisió que confirmen la necessitat de continuar les inspeccions in situ juntament amb converses entre bancs i supervisors”.
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Online scams are a common problem affecting many people who use the Internet. Scammers use sophisticated techniques to trick victims out of money or personal information. Joan Benedicto, 11Onze agent, details what they are and how to avoid the most common scams in the cyber world.
The convenience, speed, low prices and numerous options available have led to an exponential increase in online shopping and transactions year after year. However, e-commerce also increases the likelihood of falling victim to digital scams.
To protect ourselves against these scams, it is important to refrain from sharing personal or financial information online that is not strictly necessary, or when we do, not to click on suspicious links and to verify the authenticity of the website before providing personal or financial information.
The most common online scams
Phishing and online shopping
First and foremost, you should avoid connecting to the internet through a Wi-Fi network that is open to the public. Cafés, hotels or other premises with Wi-Fi connections available without a password are more vulnerable than password-protected networks. As Benedicto explains, “a person with sufficient knowledge could create an open Wi-Fi network and get access to any computer that’s connected to it”.
One of the most common Internet scams is ‘phishing’, which “consists of creating a web page very similar to the one you normally use, to get you to log in and steal certain information,” says the 11Onze agent. It can also be done by using a fake email that looks like it is from a legitimate company, such as a bank, to obtain personal information or access a bank account.
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La NASA es planteja enviar una missió tripulada a Mart en les pròximes dècades. Per a això serà necessari crear oxigen a partir del diòxid de carboni present en l’aire del planeta vermell. Part del dispositiu que ho fa possible és d’or.
Per les seves propietats, l’or ha tingut i continua tenint un paper fonamental en l’exploració espacial. Per posar un exemple, aquest metall noble ja va ser bàsic en el primer passeig espacial de la NASA l’any 1965. El cable que unia al coronel Ed White a la Gemini 4 estava recobert d’or per assegurar la seva subjecció i la visera del seu vestit també estava revestida d’or per protegir els seus ulls de la radiació solar.
La durabilitat i estabilitat de l’or, així com el fet que no s’oxidi i sigui un bon conductor de l’electricitat i de la calor, han portat als responsables de múltiples projectes espacials a utilitzar-lo amb finalitats molt diverses.
Missió a Mart
Una de les grans aspiracions de la NASA per a les pròximes dècades és enviar una missió tripulada a Mart. I serà necessària una gran quantitat d’oxigen, tant per fer cremar el combustible de la nau com per mantenir vius als astronautes.
La millor opció per no haver de transportar tot aquest oxigen des de la Terra és crear-lo en el mateix planeta vermell. I es pot aconseguir a partir del diòxid de carboni que constitueix la major part de l’aire marcià. Per això, el vehicle robotitzat Perseverance, que va arribar a Mart el febrer de 2021, incorpora un instrument anomenat MOXIE que produeix oxigen a partir del diòxid de carboni.
Com explica el Dr. Michael Hecht, investigador principal d’aquest projecte, “l’or és fonamental per al funcionament de MOXIE”, que pesa 17 quilograms i té una grandària similar al d’una bateria de cotxe. La carcassa de MOXIE està feta d’or perquè aquest metall “és extraordinàriament estable, no s’oxida ni es corroeix amb facilitat i és un excel·lent conductor de la calor”, segons Hecht. Aquesta última propietat és crucial, ja que en alguns moments del dia la temperatura és massa alta perquè pugui funcionar aquest dispositiu.
Un assaig a petita escala
Quan MOXIE està en marxa, el Perseverance roman pràcticament inactiu, ja que es requereix molta energia per separar les molècules de CO₂. Per això, MOXIE no funciona molt sovint, només una vegada al mes o cada dos mesos.
MOXIE triga unes dues hores a estar operatiu perquè una de les peces necessàries per al procés ha d’escalfar-se fins a assolir els 800 °C. Després, la càrrega de les bateries del vehicle permet produir oxigen durant una hora, en la qual a vegades els responsables del projecte canvien el voltatge o la velocitat del compressor per aprendre més sobre l’instrument.
En aquest temps MOXIE pot produir entre 6 i 10 grams d’oxigen. Es tracta d’una quantitat molt petita tenint en compte que cadascun de nosaltres consumim entre 10 i 20 grams d’oxigen cada hora, però permet a la NASA comprovar que aquesta tecnologia crítica funciona de manera adequada sobre el terreny.
De fet, el principal objectiu de MOXIE és demostrar que es pot confiar en aquesta tecnologia per nodrir d’oxigen a futures tripulacions d’astronautes i retornar-los a casa sans i estalvis. També aprendre molts detalls tècnics sobre com construir un futur sistema MOXIE molt més gran.
Dos viatges per a una missió
Tenint en compte les òrbites de la Terra i de Mart, el moment òptim per afrontar un viatge entre tots dos planetes es produeix cada vint-i-sis mesos. Una de les idees que es plantegen per dur a terme una missió tripulada és enviar primer tot el material necessari, tant el lloc on viurien els astronautes a Mart com els vehicles d’exploració, una central elèctrica i potser un “gran” MOXIE, i vint-i-sis mesos després enviar als astronautes.
D’aquesta manera, la base estaria instal·lada uns vint mesos abans del viatge dels astronautes. Aquest “gran” MOXIE hauria de generar i emmagatzemar una part important de l’oxigen que els astronautes i el seu coet necessitarien en la missió. Això significa que el dispositiu hauria de produir entre 2.000 i 3.000 grams d’oxigen per hora, enfront dels 6-10 grams que produeix el MOXIE actual. I hauria de fer-ho gairebé sense parar.
Cal tenir en compte que el coet d’ascens per marxar de Mart requeriria entre 25 i 30 tones d’oxigen i que els astronautes podrien respirar entre 2 i 3 tones durant la seva estada de divuit mesos al planeta vermell fins que arribés el moment òptim per tornar.
El primer capítol de la sèrie The Golden Thread, que aborda la importància que ha tingut i té l’or en diferents àmbits de la nostra vida, incideix en el paper fonamental que ha jugat aquest metall preciós en l’exploració de l’espai.
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Artificial intelligence facilitates the fulfilment of 79% of the sustainable development goals set globally in the 2030 Agenda. We analyse a Nature Communications’ study to find out why this figure has been reached and from which areas it will be achieved.
What is artificial intelligence (AI)?
Although there is no single way to describe it, an accurate way is the one described by Britannica, understanding AI as the ability of a digital computer or robot to perform tasks that require human intelligence. In other words, taking advantage of technological tools to optimise human tasks and, at the same time, achieve challenges that until now seemed impossible. Social and economic development cannot be understood without these AI mechanisms that, today, already mark our daily lives. Facial, fingerprint and voice recognition, weather forecasting, interactive communication with machines, automated knowledge extraction and logical reasoning are some of the achievements that will undoubtedly mark this century. The focus, and the challenge, is to create and use this technology to contribute to sustainable development on a global scale.
The three pillars of sustainable development
Society, economy and environment form the basis for understanding today’s world and are therefore the key points for developing strategic actions. The Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), have been created from these three pillars. 17 goals and 169 targets shape the present and future challenges on a global scale to keep technological advances at bay and ensure that every step contributes positively to social progress.
The 169 goals address all areas such as poverty, quality education, access to food, health and water for the population, clean and affordable energy and the creation of sustainable cities. The Nature Communications’ study, based on more than 60 sources, finds that the right AI development can have a positive impact on 134 of these goals, 79%. The uses of AI are multiple, and we find them represented in most everyday actions.
AI to reduce social inequalities
Technology is opening up to reach all pockets, also from an economic point of view. Today, using AI through our smartphones is part of our routine. Voice, touch and fingerprint recognition, device localisation, connectivity… AI tools are being incorporated at full speed to simplify the user experience and make technology accessible to everyone. The aim is to reduce the digital divide.
But AI goes further and seeks to create inclusion mechanisms for certain groups. One example is tools such as Google Lookout or Microsoft Seeing AI that facilitate the perception of the environment for blind people thanks to the identification of objects, people or text.
At home, applications such as the Localizador de la Fundació Arrels use technology as a way to care for groups at risk of social exclusion, in this case focused on supporting homeless people. Another example is the Refugee Aid App, which provides migrants with the location of NGOs, social and humanitarian aid centres where they can be assisted.
This is one of the key points of AI, favouring interconnection between users from all over the world and facilitating the creation of meeting spaces from which to collectively tackle egalitarian and inclusive social development. Technology provides the platform, but it is the citizens who have to take action.
AI for a circular economy
In terms of sustainable development, the concept of a circular economy is emerging, in which production is aligned with the life cycle of products and moves away from the traditional system based on buy, use and throw away. AI encourages this system based on the simplest everyday actions. Beyond connecting brands and consumers, digital platforms encourage the exchange of second-hand products and, from the digital environment, a trend has been created based on reusing products and promoting DIY.
The industry is also joining production based on the 7Rs, and it is doing so in many different ways. Machines are put at the service of the environment to carry out production based on recycled materials, from tyres to making roads to clothing. The technology is also reaching into means of transport, which are increasingly sustainable and encourage co-operation over private ownership.
In the area of wealth generation, AI is also key in the business sector in terms of efficiency and process optimisation, as well as in the recruitment process. From bringing companies and jobseekers together to creating automated talent selection processes. Along the same lines, investment companies such as Circularity Capital connect, through applications, investment and sustainable projects. The business fabric is adapting to environmental needs, with technology as its main ally.
AI in the environment: technology to understand the world
With the aim of environmental preservation, platforms have been created that use data analysis to identify species at risk of extinction, prevent desertification in at-risk areas or favour the maintenance of forests. For a more everyday use, there are applications that encourage the consumption of seasonal food, promote local commerce or encourage sustainable consumption of fish, without forgetting the weather forecast that is key in the maritime or outdoor sectors.
At the same time, from our mobile and thanks to AI, we can calculate air quality in real time, greenhouse gas emissions or the carbon footprint we generate on a daily basis. All facilities that demonstrate that leading a sustainable lifestyle is just a click away.
Technology allows us to understand and know what is happening all over the planet, and even on other planets. The applications created through AI extend to all areas and a global vision is positive: we are managing to create a type of technology that makes life easier for humans and, above all, that strives for sustainable development, thinking in terms of the community. The real challenge in this matter, which the study emphasises, is to ensure that the creation and maintenance of this technology does not have a negative impact on the planet. AI can favour sustainable development, but this will only be achieved if the process of achieving it is also environmentally friendly.
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Apple has published a statement this November announcing that it will make manuals, tools and spare parts available to users so that they can make their own repairs. Consumers will be able to repair their phones and computers by the beginning of 2022 in the United States, and by the end of the year in the European Union.
The Self Service Repair programme announced by Apple comes after years of lobbying by the US Federal Trade Commission, the European Union, and the Right to Repair platform. The news has been hailed as a small victory for consumers. Still, as the folks at iFixit, the electronics repair manual portal and a leading proponent of the Right to Repair, explain, the devil is in the details.
“Apple is modelling this self-repair service along the lines of its restrictive Independent Repair Provider (IRP) programme,” iFixit warns. That is, only new parts can be purchased directly from Apple, at Apple’s prices, and components from other devices or suppliers are not allowed to be used, thus removing any incentive to repair these devices outside of Apple’s official repair network.
At 11Onze you can now use your iPhone as if it were your 11Onze card and make secure, fast, and convenient payments at any establishment with a contactless POS. If you don’t yet have your 11Onze card, here’s how to order it. As soon as you have it, you can start using your mobile to make payments.
Teleworking, popularised by the confinement, is often followed by timetables that are extended to ungodly hours and that do not always clearly delineate between work and personal life. The law sets out workers’ rights and businesses’ obligations, but can we really switch off?
The European Parliament claims that the right-to-disconnect should be a fundamental right of the European Union (EU), and so it specifies in a resolution passed on 21 January. At the national level, this right is included in article 88 of Organic Law 3/2018 on Data Protection and Guarantee of Digital Rights, in article 20 bis of the Workers’ Statute, and also in article 18 of Royal Decree-Law 28/2020 on remote work.
It is worth remembering that remote workers have the same rights as on-site workers, and that the businesses’ working hours and flexibility may depend on what is established in collective bargaining, although this regulation is designed so that we are not obliged to respond to work-related emails, calls or instant messaging during our rest time or holiday period.
On the other hand, businesses have the obligation to keep a record of worked hours, regardless of their size, and to guarantee the exercise of this right through an internal policy and protocols that establish the guidelines to be followed by the entire workforce. Find out how to protect your right-to-disconnect in the video below!
Xavier Viñolas explains what what the right to digital disconnection is.
