Fall Update – Here’s What’s Coming Up at interface

Dear reader, 

Happy Fall! With the new season upon us, here’s a quick look at some recent work and updates from our team. 

Our social media and platform regulation expert Jessica Galissaire has analysed Europe's age assurance implementation gap, showing that while the EU already has strong requirements to protect minors online, most platforms simply ignore them in practice.

 Siddhi Pal and Catherine Schneider have published a paper titled La Dolce Vita Paradox, exploring why Italy, with its Milan metropolitan area, has a strong AI talent hub and seems to be doing many things right – yet struggles to retain AI specialists. It’s part of a series of upcoming country studies on Europe’s AI labour market (spoiler alert: Finland will be up next).

We also want to highlight an upcoming event at the end of October, where Nicole Lemke will talk with Imanol Schlag from ETH Zurich's AI Center about Europe's ambition for building large AI models – and a promising Swiss initiative that could show the way forward.

See more updates and details below.
Enjoy the read!  

Luisa Seeling 
Lead Writing, Editing & Publishing

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Upcoming Event

AI from the Alps: A Blueprint for the EU's Tech Ambitions? 

with Nicole Lemke & Imanol Schlag

Can the EU achieve its ambition of building competitive AI models aligned with European values? A Swiss initiative offers a potential blueprint: Researchers at two leading technical universities – EPFL and ETH Zurich – and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) have launched a 70-billion parameter multilingual open-source LLM, trained with Swiss privacy law and the AI Act in mind. On October 28th, AI Assessment expert Nicole Lemke will discuss with Imanol Schlag from the ETH's AI Center what European policymakers can learn from this approach.

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Our Latest Policy Papers

Mind the Gap: Age Assurance and the Limits of Enforcement under EU Law

by Jessica Galissaire

Platform Regulation expert Jessica Galissaire shows that Europe's problem isn't missing child online safety laws but poor enforcement: platforms ignore existing rules by relying on easily bypassed self-declaration. Her paper identifies concrete measures to close this gap without adding more legislation.

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La Dolce Vita Paradox: How Italy's Sweet Life Both Attracts and Loses AI Talent

by Siddhi Pal & Catherine Schneider

AI Labour Market experts Siddhi Pal and Catherine Schneider take a closer look at Italy’s AI talent pool. Their study highlights the "Dolce Vita Paradox": despite a strong cultural appeal and high female participation, systemic challenges and regional disparities make it hard to retain top talent.

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From Code to Compliance: The EU's Bid to Regulate General-Purpose AI

by Lisa Soder & Ema Prović

AI Assessment & Oversight expert Lisa Soder (with Ema Prović, Policy Officer at the EU Commission's AI Office) provides a guide to the EU’s new Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI. The paper outlines developers' obligations and discusses the Code's implications for AI governance in Europe and beyond.

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Other Publications

Building a Sustainable Cybersecurity Talent Pipeline

by Sven Herpig

The Philippine–German Defense Agreement, signed in Berlin on May 14, 2025, identifies cybersecurity as a priority area for cooperation. In this new KAS Security Blueprint article, Sven Herpig examines how the agreement could help address Europe's and Germany's cybersecurity talent shortage while empowering the Philippines' cyber workforce and strengthening its national resilience.

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UN OEWG: Joint Stakeholder Statement

by Christina Rupp

Cybersecurity expert Christina Rupp contributed to a civil society statement ahead of the UN OEWG final session, emphasising the need for inclusive, transparent participation in global cybersecurity processes.

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Cybersecurity Architecture Update

by Sven Herpig & Frederic Dutke

The Cybersecurity Team updated their interactive Cybersecurity Architecture, a German-language guide to Germany's governmental cybersecurity landscape, helping policymakers, researchers, and the public navigate rapid changes in key actors, their responsibilities, and governance structures.

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interface in the Media

Please note that some of these articles, interviews, and op-eds are behind a paywall, and not all are in English. 

• Denmark wants to ban social media for kids under 15: How would it work? 
  Jessica Galissaire argues that rather than banning social media use among minors, the focus should be on enforcing existing platform accountability measures. (Cybernews, 8 October)

• Op-ed: Europe's AI ambitions hinge on targeted investment 
  Nicole Lemke stresses the need to channel resources into Europe's innovation ecosystems. (The Parliament, 6 October) 

• How Europe’s rules and barriers stifle its tech future 
  Siddhi Pal argues that Europe's fragmented regulations and market barriers – not a lack of talent – limit its tech growth, making comparisons with the US and China misleading. (The Parliament, 2 October)

• Column: Ein Cyber Dome made in Germany? (German)
  Sven Herpig argues that building a robust cyber protection infrastructure will take more than just words. (Tagesspiegel Background Cybersecurity, 25 September)

• L'Italia sull’intelligenza artificiale potrebbe fare faville, ma cade sulle politiche per i lavoratori tech (Italian)
  Wired reports on Siddhi Pals' and Catherine Schneider's Data Brief "La Dolce Vita Paradox" which explores Italy’s AI potential and the challenges in policies for tech workers. (Wired Italy, 24 September)

• Hiring struggles are plaguing the EU AI Office 
  Siddhi Pal highlights that the EU AI Office faces significant hiring challenges due to a limited pool of European AI talent, with many experts opting for higher-paying opportunities in other regions. (Transformer, 15 September)

• Cruelty on demand? Outrage over livestreamed death of French streamer 
  Jessica Galissaire analyses the implications of monetized online violence, discussing platform regulation and digital responsibility. (France 24, 26 August) 

• Chinese involvement in Sharepoint vulnerability exploitation? 
  Sven Herpig argues that Microsoft should target companies associated with China's vulnerability database rather than impose a blanket ban on all Chinese vendors. (Politico, 27 August)

• Hier könnte Ihre Chipfabrik stehen (German) 
  Julia Hess comments on the need for a supplier ecosystem to make the Magdeburg High-Tech Park viable. (taz, 4 August) 

• Bundesrechnungshof warnt vor mangelnder IT-Sicherheit in der Bundesverwaltung (German)
  Sven Herpig warns that Germany's federal administration faces significant cybersecurity gaps. (MDR, 16 July) 

• America’s AI Brain Drain Threatens Its Global Lead 
  Catherine Schneider explains the US AI talent exodus and Europe's challenge in retaining incoming researchers. (VKTR, 6 July)  

• Deutsche Geheimdienste? "Selbst Behörden wissen manchmal nicht, wer wofür verantwortlich ist" (German)
  Thorsten Wetzling explains that German intelligence law is permissive and calls for reforms to improve regulation and oversight. (Die Welt, 27 June)

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Debating Policy: Hearings & Panels

• Bundestag Hearing on Germany’s NIS2 Implementation (German)
  Sven Herpig provided input at a public Bundestag hearing on the national implementation of the EU NIS2 Directive, focusing on the positioning of the Federal IT Security Coordinator (CISO-Bund) within a more independent Federal Office for Information Security. (8 October)

• Track 1.5 Cyber Diplomacy Dialogue  
  Christina Rupp participated in the first-ever Track 1.5 Cyber Diplomacy Dialogue between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of the Global Cybersecurity Forum. (1 October)

• Democracies under threat: From disinformation to digital technocracy 
  Lena Maria Böswald added expertise to a conference on the growing threat on democracies, organised by the CIDOB in Barcelona. (26 September) 

• SuSi Summit 25 – "Ist eine nachhaltige Chip-Produktion überhaupt möglich?" 
  Julia Hess shared key insights on sustainable chip production at a panel discussing innovations in the industry. (23 September) 

• ENISA Cyber EUnnovate 2025 Athens 
  Maria Nowicka discussed Europe's strengths in the global value chain in a panel on semiconductors. (11 September) 

• Nordic Semiconductor Meet-up Lund 
  Julia Hess joined discussions on semiconductors, manufacturing, and innovation with Nordic chip experts. (20 August) 

• Wirtschaftsrat der CDU – "Wir bauen die Cybernation" 
  Sven Herpig briefed policymakers on Germany’s path to digital resilience and sovereignty. (9 July)