Week 05/2025
Und die G'schicht is no lang ned aus
Teddybear at Wiener Urania Puupentheater. I ran by and found this a perfect decription of many people’s mood.
NSFW
Finally, finally, much too late, but finally I give reference to one of the Vienna’s most wonderful musicians and poets: Ernst Molden - together here with the equally wonderful Ursula Strauss.
YouTube:
The YouTube video doesn’t only show a nice microphone (is it a Telefunken?) but also another piece of equipment I have not yet discussed here: all musicians wear the same headphones - the iconic Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO - a tool I have a long (and complicated) lovestory with.
If you focus on it, you find the headset everywhere, for example in this very nice song of another all time candidate for NSFW - Element of Crime - a piece that fits very well with the general mood of many at the moment:
But to repeat myself on the important matters: Molden ist just wonderful, no matter which headphones he wears. Here, for example, without any headset but with another Viennese genius - Der Nino aus Wien - instead:
Retrospect
AI and Law
I had two very intense and mind opening days with Micha Friedmann from qnc. In short: hypecycle is over, we are in the middle of the development phase and lots of things are moving upside down. At the same time, LLMs have started to disrupt traditional legal (search [engine] markets, including Google.
Students had to write a prompt solving a business law case and it was - again - stunning to see how difficult legal prompting can be. Micha did a just marvelous job in showing the market and its challenges - in all depth, beyond all the buzzwords and the hype.
UNIKO
Just like last year (see Weekly 05/2024) I was again invited to the new year’s reception of the Austrian University Conference - Universitätenkonferenz, UNIKO). The new president, rector Mag. Brigitte Hütter, MSc, gave a rather political speak pro tolerance and pro science, followed by farewell speeches of ministers Polaschek and Kocher. Polaschek received intermediate applause for his statement that he had resigned as he didn’t want to be part of an FPÖ-ÖVP government.
#arsboni
Trend.Law published on overview on Austrian Law-Podcasts and #arsboni is kindly mentioned there.
The text reminded me of a nice, 30 years old film and I am happy and proud about Boris from the department, who also made it on this list. And congrats to everyone mentioned, such as Rechteasy, founded and run by (my former student, as I am proud to say), Manuel Roessler.
This week’s #arsboni session on corporate lawyers taught me that there’s no clear job description of corporate lawyers yet. More importantly, perhaps, the conversation reinforced the expectation that AI will increase pressure on lawyering and their business model- more than now will be done inhouse in the future.
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Gratz introduced us to the “Initiative Bessere Verwaltung” that is, howeveer, rather on hold at the moment.
AI Governance and Liability in Europe: A Primer
The book was published and can be ordered. I haven’t seen it yet, though.
Prospect
February will bring many conferences; some that we organise at the departments, others I have the privilege to attend.
Workshop Secondary Use of Health Data
Three of the projects (BBMRI.at, Smart FOX and CD-Labor) organise this event on secondary use of health data jointly.
Free entry, registration required, the programme will (probably) be streamed in some parts. We are very close to recent political developments here, as the EHDS is, finally, almost finished and will be published in the official journal soon.
AI Literacy and Governance
We are preparing a public conference on two of the most urgent issues of the AI act:
Free entry, registration required, some parts (not everything) will be streamed. This fits well with the first provisions of the AI act to be applied.
#arsboni
I am expecting two remote episodes and, on top, two sessions recorded in the laundry next week.
On Monday, January 27, at 12.00 pm I will rediscuss the impact of AI on University education.
And on Thursday, January 30, at 20.00, Shirin Ghazanfari will be my guest again (this had to be postponed last week).
The Ministry of Justice published technical regulations on the matter recently and we will discuss this further.
On top, I will interview Paul Eberstaller about his - marvelous - PHD that he successfully finalized recently.
And the president of Vienna’s Criminal Court, Mag. Friedrich Forsthuber will join me in the laundry. We will speak about Forsthuber’s very remarkable recent intervention
reacting on a social media shitstorm with, of course, Elon Musk in the first row attacking a Viennese judge.
(40 Million Views!)
and Herbert Kickl
and Kronen Zeitung commenting (campaigning) on the matter.
Look and Feel
Not too much here, this week, mainly podcast recommendations.
First, a Dunkelkammer episode
This is interesting because it gives an impression on how labor law can potentially fail in artistic milieus and because it discusses a legal opinion written by my colleague Prof. Dr. Michaela Windisch-Graetz. Another report on the matter, written by Dorda - a lwafirm that was mandated by the theater, not those making the allegations - can be read online.
Second, an episode of Gerechtigkeit und Loseblatt with an interview with Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz on whether “Europe” can do anything legal against Musk’s interview with Alice Weidel (in short: it’s complicated but no)
Falter has an interesting piece (Paywall) this week week on a similar matter. The question here is whether Austria (or any other EU member state) could (and should) ban TikTok.
The (usual) answer given by those interviewed (including Matthias C. Kettemann and me) is, again: it’s complicated but probably no.
And third, two Austrian episodes on media freedom under an FPÖ/ÖVP gorvernment
that fit well into these dark winter times.
Daisy
always prefers the biggest toothpick she can find.
© Birgit Forgó-Feldner
Look and Feel II
The moment I am writing this, I am listening to a dark yet wonderful playlist in memory of David Lynch who passed away recently.
He insisted that one should wear headphones when watching his oeuvre. As the internet knows everything, I know now that he personally prefered a (rather cheap) Sony headset throughout his career.
Look at the sky, my dear. You hear me? We will miss you.
Have a wonderful week!
Kind regards
Nikolaus (Forgó)