Category: Biotech and Bioinformatics

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National Security, Social Singularity

In the next book on technology and national security written together with professor Raymond Wacks, we examine the consequences of what we called ‘social singularity’. Social singularity is the pretence (or the delusion) of being part of an online ‘community’ while being not.

Being a community member means sharing values, being ready to help and work for the common benefit, protecting each other. By contrast, living in a social singularity condition (favoured by social networking platforms) turns an individual into a part of a swarm whose only reason to team up with somebody else is personal motive. Once the need is satisfied, the swarm disappears, only to resurface with different members to pursue a different goal. There are plenty of examples of this social singularity phenomenon, from the various rabid outbursts of cancel culture to the Reddit traders Wall Street take over in the Gamestop case. Continue reading “National Security, Social Singularity”

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5G and European technological independence. Prof. Monti’s version

While waiting for the meeting with the US Secretary of State Pompeo, the Italian Premier Conte talks about European technological independence. It will take time, but the government can do a lot can right now for independent national security. The analysis by Andrea Monti, adjunct professor of law and order at the University of Chieti-Pescara – initially published in Italian by Formiche.net 

Continue reading “5G and European technological independence. Prof. Monti’s version”

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China to vaccine the Army to avoid the Roman Empire’s fate

by Andrea Monti – adjunct professor of law and order at the University of Chieti-Pescara – Originally published in Italian by Formiche.net

A piece of recent news is that China has decided to test Ad5-nCoV, a possible vaccine for the Coronavirus, on its armed forces. According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, the choice would depend on the fact that the military “offers a more compact medical control group than the public”.

Although the use on civilians and not only by Chinese descent could be possible (the experimentation was also authorized in Canada), it is useful to think about the meaning of the choice to develop and test the vaccine in the military. Continue reading “China to vaccine the Army to avoid the Roman Empire’s fate”

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Minnesota’s protests to mark the end of Immuni?

Online contact tracing is changing business: from a means to counter the Coronavirus contagion to a tool of public order. Can we afford it? The analysis of Andrea Monti, Adjunct-Professor in charge of law and order and public safety at the University of Chieti-Pescara
Originally published in Italian by Formiche.net.

A series of tweets from the American network NBC News bounce the news that the authorities in Minnesota plan to use data from Coronavirus contact-tracing software in public order and security operations to contain the antiracist protests broken out over the death of George Floyd caused by a police officer.

This announcement re-ignites the controversy about the risks of abuse by the State, if it is allowed to have at its disposal vast amounts of data of all kinds on citizens and, in Italy, reinforces the position of those who praised the incredible technological complication that “to protect privacy” has delayed and castrated the development of Immuni, the contact tracing software that should warn us if we came into contact with someone who tested positive at Covid-19. Continue reading “Minnesota’s protests to mark the end of Immuni?”

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COVID-19: fake news and individual arrogance

Like many people, I often talk about COVID-19 and its impacts in various areas. By academic and professional habit, I try to do so by applying three criteria:

  • to talk about things I have direct knowledge of, to ask for explanations (explanations, not “clarifications”),
  • when I have to draw conclusions of my competence that require non-legal knowledge,
  • to avoid talking about topics outside my area of knowledge.

This attitude, proper of people accustomed to reasoning on a logical basis, is less widespread than one might think and not (only) out of ignorance, but out of a form of intellectual arrogance in the name of which the fact of having competence in an area self-attribute title and authority to talk about whatever topic comes on the floor. Continue reading “COVID-19: fake news and individual arrogance”