Data protection

Data protection has long been more than just a legal side issue - it has become one of the central pillars of our digital self-determination. At a time when personal data is regarded as the new currency, the sovereign handling of information is becoming a question of responsibility - for companies as well as for each individual.

This tag is used for articles that take a critical and practical look at issues relating to data storage, tracking, cloud services, state surveillance and digital autonomy. The aim is to provide guidance - beyond scaremongering, but also beyond blind faith in technology.

ChatGPT data export explained: How your AI chats become a personal knowledge system

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ChatGPT data export

If you regularly work with an AI, then you probably know this: one thought leads to the next. You ask a question, get an answer, reformulate, develop an idea further. A short question suddenly turns into a longer dialog. Sometimes it even leads to entire projects.

But most of these conversations disappear again. They lie somewhere in the chat list, slide down and are forgotten over time. This is precisely one of the great features of modern AI systems: While previous conversations with colleagues, friends or advisors only existed in our memories, AI dialogs are completely preserved.

This means something crucial: With every conversation, a digital archive of your thinking is created. This is the first part of a small series of articles that will allow you to export your chat history from ChatGPT and use it effectively as a personal treasure trove of knowledge with your local AI system.

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When I was on the phone with a robot - how AI is conquering the phone and how to recognize it

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Phone call with an AI robot

There are moments in everyday life that seem completely banal at first. You're sitting at your desk, working on an article, thinking about a new topic - and suddenly the phone rings. A number you don't recognize. In my case, it was an area code from the Ruhr region: 0233 something. As a self-employed person, you occasionally get calls like that. It's usually about advertising, services or advice that you don't actually need.

So I initially answered the call as normal. A friendly female voice answered on the other end. She introduced herself as an employee who works with Facebook and Instagram. It was - unsurprisingly - about advertising. About ads. About reach. Visibility for companies.

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When the Mac listens: What Apple's integrated AI with Gemini and Siri will mean for users in the future

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Apple, Siri and Gemini

When you open a Mac today, you expect reliability. Programs start, files are in their place, processes are well practiced. Many have built up a way of working over years - some over decades - that works. You know where to click. You know your tools. And this is precisely where the quiet comfort lies. But for some time now, a change has been brewing in the background that is bigger than new colors, new icons or additional menu items. For the first time, a form of artificial intelligence is moving in not just as a single application, but closer to the heart of the operating system itself. Where daily routines are created.

That sounds abstract at first. Perhaps even a little futuristic. But basically it's about something very down-to-earth: the computer should better understand what is meant. Not just what is clicked on. Many people have so far experienced AI outside of their actual work. In chat windows, on websites, as an experiment or a gimmick. You try something out, perhaps be amazed, close the window again - and return to your normal everyday life.

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Why having your own magazine is more important for companies today than advertising

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Magazine as property

When you talk to entrepreneurs about visibility these days, it's almost always about reach. People talk about findability on Google, social media, paid ads on Google or other platforms, click numbers, followers and interactions. Visibility is considered a prerequisite for commercial success, and in many industries this is true.

What is rarely discussed is a quiet but decisive shift: most companies are visible today - but on spaces that do not belong to them. This development has not been dramatic. It was convenient, gradual and seemingly logical. That is precisely why it is hardly questioned.

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Understanding digital money: Bitcoin, stablecoins and CBDCs explained simply

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CBDCs, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins

There were times when money was simply „there“ in everyday life. You earned it, withdrew it, paid with it, transferred bills - done. And that was one of the quiet qualities of the old system: it was so reliable that you hardly noticed it.

Many technical things work best when they remain invisible. Cash is a good example of this: it is tangible, easy to understand and allows for an exchange without a system immediately running in the background that logs or evaluates everything. This was normal for decades. You didn't have to be an expert to participate in business life. That will change in the future.

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Reach is not ownership - Why visibility is no longer enough today

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Reach vs. ownership

A good ten years ago, I happened to watch a lecture on the transition from the information society to the knowledge society. At the time, much of it still sounded theoretical, almost academic. It was about concepts such as data sovereignty, ownership of information and the question of who will actually determine what is accessible in the future - and what is not. Today, with a little distance, this lecture seems surprisingly precise. After all, much of what was described as a development back then has now become reality. More and more data has migrated to the cloud. More and more information is no longer stored on in-house systems, but in external infrastructures. And increasingly, it is no longer the user but a provider, a platform or a set of rules that decides what is possible.

To understand this development, it is worth taking a step back. The information society in which many of us grew up was not a normal state. It was a historical exception.

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Cloud AI as head teacher: why the future of work lies with local AI

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Cloud AI becomes the head teacher

When the large language models began their triumphal march a few years ago, they almost seemed like a return to the old virtues of technology: a tool that does what it is told. A tool that serves the user, not the other way around. The first versions - from GPT-3 to GPT-4 - had weaknesses, yes, but they were amazingly helpful. They explained, analyzed, formulated and solved tasks. And they did this largely without pedagogical ballast.

You talked to these models as if you were talking to an erudite employee who sometimes got lost, but basically just worked. Anyone who wrote creative texts, generated program code or produced longer analyses back then experienced how smoothly it went. There was a feeling of freedom, of an open creative space, of technology that supported people instead of correcting them.

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CLOUD Act, data sovereignty and Switzerland: a turning point for European IT strategies?

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What the Swiss cloud resolution means for Europe

Something happened in Switzerland in mid-November that hardly anyone expected in this form: The country's data protection commissioners passed a clear, almost historic resolution. The message behind it is simple - and at the same time highly controversial: public authorities should no longer outsource their most sensitive data to international cloud services such as Microsoft 365 without hesitation. Why is that?

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