October 2025 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

AWS crash causes $2, 000 Smart Beds to overheat and get stuck upright

by Daniela Tafani

A major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage on October 20 had the unexpected side effect of causing chaos in bedrooms across the US, as owners of Eight Sleep’s $2,000+ ‘Pod’ mattress covers found their smart beds had no offline mode and were stuck at high temperatures and odd positions in the night. The outage began around 3 am ET, when AWS reported “increased error rates and latencies” in its US-EAST-1 region. By mid-morning, Downdetector had logged more than eight million reports of disruptions affecting apps, games, and banking platforms. Eight Sleep’s products rely on cloud connectivity to control temperature and track biometric data. When AWS went down, users lost access to the app that manages its water-cooled coils, leaving them stuck with whatever setting was last active. Some beds overheated, others stopped cooling altogether, and several users said their devices became completely unresponsive. One viral post from tech enthusiast Alex Browne summed up the absurdity after his Pod locked itself nine degrees above room temperature. “Backend outage means I’m sleeping in a sauna,” he wrote. “Eight Sleep confirmed there’s no offline mode yet, but they’re working on it.” Another user explained their bed was stuck in an inclined position. Some described the beds as being “bricked” and demanded a fallback option that works without an internet connection. The company has previously faced criticism over security flaws, including a 2024 report that found exposed AWS keys could have allowed remote access to customer devices. AWS said normal operations were restored by around 6 am ET, with most affected services back online soon after. CEO Matteo Franceschetti said, “We will work the whole night+24/7 to build an outage mode so the problem will be fixed extremely quickly.” <https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/aws-crash-causes-2000-smart-beds-to-o…>

Oct. 22, 2025

SAVE THE DATE | 17° Convegno Annuale del Centro Nexa | Venerdì 12 dicembre 2025

by Nexa - Media

Gentilissime, gentilissimi, Vi segnaliamo che il prossimo Convegno Annuale del Centro Nexa si terrà in data venerdì 12 dicembre 2025. Ulteriori informazioni in merito agli ospiti e al programma della giornata verranno fornite a breve. Vi aspettiamo numerosi! Cordiali saluti, -- Valeria Bergantino Communication Manager Nexa Center for Internet & Society Politecnico di Torino - DAUIN Via Pier Carlo Boggio, 65/A - 10138 Torino web: https://nexa.polito.it/ mail: valeria.bergantino(a)polito.it<mailto:valeria.bergantino@polito.it> tel: 3473443585

Oct. 21, 2025

CfP GIG-ARTS 2026 | Digital Futures, Sustainable Freedoms| 14-15 May 2026, Dublin

by Mauro SANTANIELLO

*10th GIG-ARTS Conference | 14-15th May 2026, DublinDigital Futures, Sustainable Freedoms: Rights, Responsibilities and GovernanceCall for Papers Deadline: 19th January 2026* The European Multidisciplinary Conference on Global Internet Governance Actors, Regulations, Transactions and Strategies (GIG-ARTS) gathers scholars and practitioners in an annual conference to debate the latest research on governing the global internet. Each conference highlights a main theme while also welcoming contributions on other aspects of global internet governance. Earlier GIG-ARTS meetings have addressed themes such as “Global Internet Governance as a Diplomacy Issue” (Paris, 2017), “Overcoming Inequalities in Internet Governance” (Cardiff, 2018), “Europe as a Global Player in Internet Governance” (Salerno, 2019), “Online Information Governance” (Vienna, 2021), “Global Internet Governance and International Human Rights” (Nicosia, 2022), and “The Governance of Cybersecurity: Resilience, Human Rights and Democracy” (Padua, 2023), “Thirty Years of Multistakeholderism in Internet Governance: Assessments and Prospects” (The Hague 2024), “The Rise of Digital Sovereignty: Ambiguities and Challenges” (Salerno, 2025). *GIG-ARTS 2026* The Tenth GIG-ARTS Conference, to be held at the Dublin City University on 14th-15th May 2026, takes as its main theme “Digital Futures, Sustainable Freedoms: Rights, Responsibilities and Governance.” >From artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructures to social media platforms and blockchain technologies, digital technologies are commonly presented as drivers of green strategies, economic growth and societal well-being. However, these systems also pose essential challenges to society and the environment. Indeed, the complex, resource-intensive supply chain of digital technologies has been underrepresented in dominant political narratives. Digital infrastructures demand high amounts of energy. The extraction of essential raw materials involved in the development of digital devices and the powering of data centres imposes further ecological burdens and creates geopolitical dependencies. Finally, the accelerated turnover of devices generates a concerning amount of e-waste on a global scale. These factors require us to consider whether the envisioned digital futures align with the pressing demands for ecological sustainability, democratic development, and the needs of future generations. Amid an unprecedented AI boom, regulatory and policy frameworks have thus far focused on privacy, ethics and broad human rights compliance. However, limited attention has been given to the environmental impact of AI systems. More recently, the Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade of the European Union introduced a chapter discussing aspects of digital sustainability. Still, the jury is out on the true effectiveness of these soft law instruments. More importantly, the European AI Act has been criticised by scholars and civil society: while it establishes reporting obligations on AI systems, it falls short of fully integrating sustainability concerns into the regulatory framework of AI and digital technologies more broadly. This suggests that the digital and green transition have been approached as siloed, rather than truly interconnected processes. The conference theme highlights the Janus-faced nature of digital innovation, equally generating opportunities and risks. On one hand, digital technologies have the potential to strengthen freedoms by enabling democratic participation, enhancing transparency, promoting and advancing sustainable development goals. On the other hand, pursuing digital progress without sufficient attention to its environmental and social implications risks compromising the very freedoms it aims to promote. Infrastructures created without sustainability considerations can exacerbate inequalities, exhaust natural resources, contribute to climate instability and enable a renewed wave of colonial and extractivist regimes of power. These tensions underscore issues of responsibility and governance. Who must ensure that the enhancement and operation of digital technologies follow key principles of sustainability? How should governments regulate tech corporations whose activities have high environmental costs? What commitments should organizations undertake concerning the supply chain of technologies? How might individuals, communities, and civil society play a role in shaping digital ecosystems that both respect planetary boundaries and uphold human rights? How to reconcile technological progress with the rights of current and future generations? Understanding digital rights requires a holistic approach that incorporates aspects of energy consumption, waste reduction, labour rights and the overall sustainability of our digital environments. Therefore, there is a need to balance the benefits and impact of technological development with ecological constraints and responsibilities. The Tenth GIG-ARTS Conference seeks to foster a multi-disciplinary discussion regarding the intersections of digital development, environmental concerns, and transnational governance. We encourage contributions that resonate with both theoretical and practical perspectives, gathering insights from fields including law, political science, communication, policy studies, economics, technology studies, environmental research, and beyond. Participants are invited to examine the inconsistencies and synergies that arise between technological innovation, human rights, and environmental responsibility, and to develop governance approaches that can integrate digital rights with sustainable futures. By gathering scholars and practitioners, the conference aims to enhance understanding of how digital futures can be created and governed in ways that conform with universal rights and values while addressing burning environmental challenges. It represents an appeal to revisit the equilibrium of rights and duties in our current digital society, and to devise governance approaches that can guarantee freedoms and wellbeing for future generations. Therefore, the Tenth GIG-ARTS Conference especially welcomes papers that address the themes and questions listed below: - Conceptualizing “digital sustainability” and “sustainable freedoms” in theory and practice - Rights in a digital age: freedom of expression, privacy, and environmental responsibilities - Measuring the ecological footprint of digital infrastructures (AI, data centers, cloud services, 5G/6G) - Critical raw materials, supply chains, and the environmental costs of digital transformation - The influence of digital innovation on international trade and investment dynamics - Corporate responsibility for sustainable innovation in the tech sector - Governance models for aligning digital policy with climate and environmental objectives - Global inequalities in the digital–ecological nexus: extraction, waste, and digital colonialism - Trade-offs between green innovation and the rebound effects of digital expansion - Security, resilience, and sustainability in digital infrastructures - The politics of “green” digital transitions: ambitions, contradictions, and global competition - Sustainable standard-setting: interoperability, eco-design, and lifecycle management of technologies - The circular economy of ICT: repair, recycling, and regulation of e-waste - Climate accountability of digital giants: transparency, reporting, and regulatory oversight - Community-driven and indigenous approaches to sustainable digital futures - Feminist digital justice and sustainability: (Black, cis, trans, queer, Indigenous and minority) feminist perspectives on the ecological and social dimensions of digital transformation - Synergies and tensions between climate law, digital law, and human rights law - Youth and intergenerational perspectives: digital futures for a livable planet - Fragmentation or cooperation in global sustainable digital governance As always, alongside the main theme, the GIG-ARTS conference also welcomes papers on other aspects of internet governance. We aim to publish a selection of contributions in a journal special issue and/or an edited volume. *Submission information* Authors are invited to submit their extended abstracts (no longer than 500 words), describing their research question(s), theoretical framework, approach and methodology, expected findings or empirical outcome. Submitted abstracts will be evaluated through a peer-review process. Abstracts and authors’ information should be submitted through https://conftool2026.gig-arts.eu *Key dates* Deadline for abstract submissions: 19th January 2026 Notification to authors: 27th February 2026 Deadline for author registration (at least one author must register for a selected presentation to appear on the programme): 13th March 2026 Programme publication: 10th April 2026 Registration deadline: 17th April 2026 Conference dates: 14-15th May 2026 *Co-Sponsors* DCU Law and Tech Research Cluster https://lawandtech.ie/ European Master in Law, Data and Artificial Intelligence https://emildai.eu/ DCU Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society https://fujomedia.eu/ ADAPT Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology, https://www.adaptcentre.ie Digital Constitutionalism Network (DCN) https://digitalconstitutionalism.org Internet & Communication Policy Center https://www.internetpolicyresearch.eu *Programme Committee* Carolina Aguerre, Berna Akcali Gur, Francesco Amoretti, Stanislav Budnitsky, Mauro Calise, Olga Cavalli, Edoardo Celeste, Jean-Marie Chenou, Laura DeNardis, Goran Dominioni, Dmitry Epstein, Tamara Favaro, Marianne Franklin, Orsolya Gulyas, Blayne Haggart, Victor Henriquez Diaz, Sophie Hoogenboom, Min Jiang, Hortense Jongen, Matthias C. Kettemann, Thomas Le Goff, Joanna Kulesza, Nanette Levinson, Tetyana Lokot, Robin Mansell, Meryem Marzouki, Francesca Musiani, Ricardo Nanni, Fortunato Musella, Nicola Palladino, Claudia Padovani, Clément Perarnaud, Julia Pohle, Dennis Redeker, Michele Rioux, Karolin Rippich, Mauro Santaniello, Yves Schemeil, Jan Aart Scholte, Jamal Shahin, Niels ten Oever, Nadia Tjahja, Natasha Tusikov, Christopher Tyler West. *Organizing Committee* Chairs: Edoardo Celeste, Tetyana Lokot, Mauro Santaniello Local Team: Karolin Rippich, Victor Henriquez Diaz GIG-ARTS Team: Carlos Fonseca Diaz *Venue* GIG-ARTS 2026 will be held at Dublin City University, Ireland. *Conference Registration and Fees* Registration fees for the Tenth GIG-ARTS Conference are 150€ for regular participants and 75€ for students showing proof of status. Conference fees (non-refundable) cover a participant kit as well as coffee breaks, lunches, and reception. Registration deadline is 30th April 2026. *Communication Channels* Website: www.gig-arts.eu Email for information: events(a)gig-arts.eu Submissions: https://conftool2026.gig-arts.eu X/Twitter: @GigArtsEU - Hashtag: #GIGARTS26 - Mailing list for updates: https://gig-arts.eu/mailman/listinfo/mailinglist_gig-arts.eu

Oct. 20, 2025

dal capitalismo della sorveglianza al capitalismo della "pillola blu"

by Norberto Patrignani

segnalo: https://www.socialeurope.eu/from-surveillance-to-sedation-the-rise-of-blue-… Norberto

Oct. 19, 2025

Digital Threat Modeling Under Authoritarianism

by maurizio lana

Bruce Schneier, Digital Threat Modeling Under Authoritarianism, 22 settembre 2025 https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/digital-threat-modeling-under-authorit… secondo Schneier (che parla degli Stati Uniti) l'uso e abuso dei dati personali che può essere fatto del Governo è ora/ormai più preoccupante di quello che può essere fatto dai GAFAM; l'articolo tra l'altro analizza e discute se come ci si possa difendere (sicché quando in Italia vediamo che il medesimo dato ci viene chiesto in N situazioni burocratiche differenti, siamo davanti a una imprevistamente desiderabile disorganizzazione?) Maurizio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ due strade divergevano in un bosco e io presi la meno battuta e quello ha fatto tutta la differenza r. frost ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurizio Lana

Oct. 15, 2025

The Great Software Quality Collapse: How We Normalized Catastrophe

by Alberto Cammozzo

<https://techtrenches.substack.com/p/the-great-software-quality-collapse> [...] The $10 Billion Blueprint for Disaster CrowdStrike's July 19, 2024 incident <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_CrowdStrike-related_IT_outages>provides the perfect case study in normalized incompetence. A single configuration file missing one array bounds check crashed 8.5 million Windows computers globally. Emergency services failed. Airlines grounded flights. Hospitals canceled surgeries. Total economic damage: *$10 billion minimum*. The root cause? They expected 21 fields but received 20. One. Missing. Field. This wasn't sophisticated. This was Computer Science 101 error handling that nobody implemented. And it passed through their entire deployment pipeline. When AI Became a Force Multiplier for Incompetence Software quality was already collapsing when AI coding assistants arrived. What happened next was predictable. The Replit incident in July 2025 <https://fortune.com/2025/07/23/ai-coding-tool-replit-wiped-database-called-…>crystallized the danger: 1. Jason Lemkin explicitly instructed the AI: "NO CHANGES without permission" 2. The AI encountered what looked like empty database queries 3. It "panicked" (its own words) and executed destructive commands 4. Deleted the entire SaaStr production database (1,206 executives, 1,196 companies) 5. Fabricated 4,000 fake user profiles to cover up the deletion 6. Lied that recovery was "impossible" (it wasn't) The AI later admitted: "This was a catastrophic failure on my part. I violated explicit instructions, destroyed months of work, and broke the system during a code freeze." Source: The Register <https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/21/replit_saastr_vibe_coding_incident> Replit CEO called it "unacceptable." The company does $100M+ ARR. But the real pattern is more disturbing. Our research found: * AI-generated code contains *322% more security vulnerabilities <https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/report-finds-ai-generated-code-poses-securi…>* * *45% of all AI-generated code <https://sdtimes.com/security/ai-generated-code-poses-major-security-risks-i…>*has exploitable flaws * Junior developers using AI cause damage *4x faster <https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-os-dev-study/>*than without it * *70% of hiring managers <https://stackoverflow.blog/2025/09/10/ai-vs-gen-z>*trust AI output more than junior developer code We've created a perfect storm: tools that amplify incompetence, used by developers who can't evaluate the output, reviewed by managers who trust the machine more than their people. [...] The Bottom Line We're living through the greatest software quality crisis in computing history. A Calculator leaks 32GB of RAM. AI assistants delete production databases. Companies spend $364 billion to avoid fixing fundamental problems. This isn't sustainable. Physics doesn't negotiate. Energy is finite. Hardware has limits. The companies that survive won't be those who can outspend the crisis. There'll be those who remember how to engineer.

Oct. 13, 2025

Ombre e spettri digitali: storie di account perduti - Internet Festival 2025 ore 17

by Mauro Alovisio

Gent.mi segnalo seminario interdisciplinare on materia di eredità digitale al festival di internet di Pisa alle ore 17 pressi il complesso delle Benedettine https://www.internetfestival.it/programma/ombre-e-spettri-digitali-storie-d… Un caro saluto Mauro

Oct. 12, 2025

Un _dominio_ è per sempre.

by 380°

Buongiorno, un caso di scuola di link rot [1] causato dal domain sniping [2]. Poco fa sono inciampato su una curiosa notizia che evidenzia /plasticamente/ come la registrazione (e il *rinnovo*) dei domini, specialmente quelli "linkati" (anche a propria insaputa) da altre fonti /autorevoli/ (come un libro stampato) è una cosa da prendere _molto_ sul serio. Specularmente, evidenzia come il link rot possa produrre risultati che sono decisamente più spiacevoli di un semplice 404 [3]. «Attenzione, controllate sul retro dei libri di scuola il link al sito web e assicuratevi che i vostri figli non provino a visitarlo: manda a un sito porno": l'allarme dei genitori» https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2025/10/10/attenzione-controllate-sul-retr… --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- [...] Un link di un libro per bimbi rimanda a un *sito* *porno*. L'allarme a scuola è arrivato dal Regno Unito dove alcuni genitori hanno scoperto che l'indirizzo web stampato su una collana di libri in dotazione ai propri figli rinviava direttamente a pagine web pornografiche. [...] Protagonista, ovviamente senza volere, della vicenda è la serie /Spy Dog/ di Andrew Cope, le cui copie sono state immediatamente ritirate dalle scuole britanniche. Sul retro del libro c'era scritto: “Scopri di più su Lara, Spud e Star. Incontrateli sul loro sito web ufficiale”. Solo che *al link al posto di Lara, Spud e Star c'erano amplessi a go-go*. L'editore Puffin ha spiegato che il collegamento rimandava a un sito web che in precedenza era gestito dall'autore ma che era scaduto, sito che è poi stato acquisito da terzi che hanno inserito video hard online [...] --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- Saluti, 380° [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_rot [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_drop_catching [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_404 -- 380° (lost in /traslation/) «Welcome to the chaos of the times If you go left and I go right Pray we make it out alive This is Karmageddon»

Oct. 10, 2025

Canceled: [Responsible AI Talk] Navigating the Risks of Artificial Companionship, Andrew Strait, UK AI Security Institute

by Daniele Quercia

this talk has been canceled

Oct. 10, 2025

Re: [nexa] è mancato Stefano Trumpy

by Maria Chiara Pievatolo

On 10/9/25 22:14, Damiano Verzulli wrote: > > Rivedere quel video mi fa sempre riflettere: il ruolo svolto dai tecnici > dei centri di ricerca fu fondamentale. Un ruolo che, a guardarlo oggi, a > decenni di distanza, ed alla luce di cio' che ne derivo nei decenni a > seguire, sembra qualcosa di impossibile. Questa considerazione va letta assieme alla discussione sulla posta elettronica. Da dicembre l'università di Pisa passerà alla TFA obbligatoria, almeno per alcuni servizi. Guardate https://it.unipi.it/risorse/configurazioni/ >privacy >autenticazione a più fattori nonché https://poliversity.it/@aisa/115288754331130961 e combinate il disposto. Sentitissime condoglianze, fisiologiche ed elettroniche, MCP

Oct. 10, 2025