Data & The City

🚨 NEW EPISODE DROP: GlastonData — CPDP Day 3 🚨And data darling… Brussels has officially entered its finale era. ✨🎪There I was, sitting outside the CPDP venue on the final morning with an iced matcha in hand, sunglasses hiding the consequences of the afterparty, and a tote bag full of crumpled notes, business cards, and unresolved feelings about AI. Around me, the festival energy had shifted, slower steps, softer conversations, and that unmistakable Day Three mix of exhaustion and reflection.And I couldn’t help but wonder… after three days of panels, policy drama, networking, and digital existentialism — what are we actually taking home from Europe’s most fashionable privacy festival? Because Day Three at CPDP didn’t wind down… it softened into meaning. AI warfare, mental privacy, surveillance capitalism, adtech empires, digital sovereignty — the topics were still huge. But underneath it all sat a quieter question: how do we stay human in systems designed to predict, profile, and optimise us? So today, data darlings, we’re stepping into the final stretch of CPDP — the afterglow edition. The last panels, lingering debates, and post-festival reflections heading back through Brussels airport security...In this episode:🎪 The Rights Erosion Era Tour We’re joined by Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal, on surveillance, design, and digital rights. She explores Europe’s shift from rights-first regulation to “competitiveness” — and what gets lost in the process.⚔️ The Security Line at the AI Festival We’re joined by Frank Slijper (PAX), on AI, war, and surveillance. He examines how AI is reshaping warfare — and what that means for civilians, accountability, and power.🎤 No VIP Access for Unchecked AI We close with Wojciech Wiewiórowski, on AI safeguards and high-risk systems. He asks what it really takes to govern AI before it outruns its safeguards.🎧 CPDP Day 3 — The Afterglow Edition Neural data, AI warfare, digital euro debates, adtech power, workplace surveillance — Day Three moved across stages but kept circling one question: what does power look like when it becomes data?Because at CPDP, even the afterparty has a policy angle...and I couldn’t help but wonder… is privacy the last thing still fully ours? ✨Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/kem/dance-with-me License code: XQXUQW67E8HAAVJVMusic from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/fridays License code: NZDYGUAOJZRQ8YOD

🚨 NEW EPISODE DROP: Burning Data Man 🚨And data darling… CPDP officially entered its after-dark festival era✨🎪There I was, balancing a pistachio croissant, a homemade iced tea, and a rapidly declining phone battery while sprinting between panels like I was chasing overlapping headline acts at Europe’s most intellectually glamorous music festival.Everywhere I looked: fabulous festival fits, tote bags multiplying at dangerous speed, AI debates before noon, and policy people discussing digital sovereignty with the same emotional intensity normally reserved for backstage festival gossip. And I couldn’t help but wonder… when did privacy conferences stop feeling like conferences and start feeling like full-blown cultural events? In this episode of Data & The City, we head back into the CPDP festival grounds for Day Two — where AI regulation, emotional algorithms, academic burnout, digital rights, and policy drama all collided beneath the Brussels festival lights.This episode’s chapters:🎓 Backstage Passes and Burnout CrashesPia Groenewolt joins us to unpack academia, precarity, institutional pressure, and what healthier academic spaces could actually look like behind the polished conference panels and intellectual glamour.🎨 The AI-Situationship Stage: Interview with Joel Baumann, Laura Därr, Lea-Maraike Sambale & Leonie Witka, from emotional AI to digital intimacy and algorithmic relationships, this panel explores the blurry, beautiful, slightly unsettling space where humans and machines start emotionally connecting.🎪 Burning Data Man: CPDP Day 2From generative AI in education and cybersecurity to digital sovereignty, online manipulation, emotional chatbots, and the legendary CPDP afterparty — we recap the policy-palooza chaos, festival energy, and digital drama shaping Day Two✨Whether you’re a privacy enthusiast, policymaker, artist, academic, or simply trying to survive the algorithmic age with your humanity and tote bag collection intact… this episode is for you.🧩 And if you’re surviving CPDP on sparkling water, adrenaline, and approximately twelve overlapping thoughts about AI governance — don’t forget to grab your copy of Puzzling Privacy 3: the ultimate conference companion for solving puzzles while pretending you’re definitely processing panel notes and not just avoiding LinkedIn notifications. Global: https://lnkd.in/eDdSafzNUK: https://lnkd.in/en2ssvZmDE: https://lnkd.in/eMNxnsqYFR: https://lnkd.in/egyCFYFhES: https://lnkd.in/eJw78e_PIT: https://lnkd.in/eB8nySNgNL: https://lnkd.in/eWxDeKBMPL: https://lnkd.in/eUghwZERSE: https://lnkd.in/eKpN8R8wBE: https://lnkd.in/eS4X-cnkIE: https://lnkd.in/et5VZ_myJP: https://lnkd.in/e9qF2B27CA: https://lnkd.in/e5QQAyPgAU: https://lnkd.in/eZv4QjtAIf you are interested in the art from the artists featured in this episode:Joel Baumann: https://www.joelbaumann.com/Laura Därr: http://lauradaerr.com/vita/Lea-Maraike Sambale: https://leamaraikesambale.com/Leonie Witka: https://www.instagram.com/herr_lorni/  Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/hope License code: PYC7X9XAKNV2AGHL Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/tonebox/dimensional License code: ZFRGQFDPB66GNNUC

🚨 NEW EPISODE DROP: Privacy-Chella: Day One at CPDP 🚨And data darling… Brussels officially entered its festival era. ✨🎪 There I was, stepping into CPDP with a conference badge swinging around my neck like VIP festival access, a tote bag large enough to qualify as emotional support luggage, and the growing realization that privacy professionals might actually have better festival fits than Coachella influencers. Everywhere I looked: AI governance before breakfast, digital sovereignty debates by lunch, tote bags multiplying at dangerous speed, and panels serving more drama than a festival headline act delayed by rain.And I couldn’t help but wonder… when did data protection become the hottest ticket of festival season? In this extra long episode of Data & The City, we head backstage at CPDP — the ultimate privacy festival where regulators, academics, activists, and tech insiders gather beneath the Brussels skyline for three days of policy glamour, AI anxieties, digital rights debates, and intellectually overstimulating main-stage energy.This episode’s chapters: 🎓 The Algorithm Took My HomeworkSjoera Nas joins us to unpack generative AI in education, ethical AI, public values, and whether schools can embrace AI without letting Big Tech become the permanent festival headliner.📸 The Festival of OversharingSunghyun Lee takes us into the world of children’s digital self-determination, “sharenting,” AI profiling, and Korea’s bold “Delete the Children” initiative. ⚖️ The Freedom of Expression AfterpartyDr. Saskia Ostendorff and Friederike Vanon Frauqué step onto the legal main stage to unpack free speech, GDPR tensions, SLAPP lawsuits, and why digital rights are increasingly fighting for the spotlight.🎪 Privacy-Chella – Day 1 at CPDPFrom AI investigations and platform governance to digital labour, policy drama, festival networking, and regulatory chic — we recap the biggest conversations shaping Day One at Europe’s most fashionable privacy festival. ✨ Whether you’re a privacy enthusiast, policymaker, academic, or just someone who enjoys watching Europe try to regulate the future while serving impeccable conference fashion… this episode is for you.🧩 And if you’re surviving CPDP with tired feet, an overstimulated brain, and approximately sixteen unfinished conversations about AI regulation — don’t forget to grab your copy of Puzzling Privacy 3: the ultimate conference companion for solving puzzles while pretending you’re definitely processing panel notes and not just avoiding LinkedIn notifications.Global: https://lnkd.in/eDdSafzNUK: https://lnkd.in/en2ssvZmDE: https://lnkd.in/eMNxnsqYFR: https://lnkd.in/egyCFYFhES: https://lnkd.in/eJw78e_PIT: https://lnkd.in/eB8nySNgNL: https://lnkd.in/eWxDeKBMPL: https://lnkd.in/eUghwZERSE: https://lnkd.in/eKpN8R8wBE: https://lnkd.in/eS4X-cnkIE: https://lnkd.in/et5VZ_myJP: https://lnkd.in/e9qF2B27CA: https://lnkd.in/e5QQAyPgAU: https://lnkd.in/eZv4QjtAMusic from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/tobias-voigt/all-summer-long License code: 2DSKQKILLT8CUV0MMusic from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/night-sail License code: DNEUCFWZWRS4B9XZ

🚨 New Episode Drop! 🚨Our CPDP special has officially begun, data darlings...and this one is serving festival glamour, policy plot twists, digital drama, and enough AI existentialism to require a second tote bag.There I was, stepping into Brussels with a perfectly planned outfit, a fully charged phone, and absolutely no emotional preparation for how quickly CPDP would turn into the Coachella of privacy conferences. Everywhere I looked, regulators, academics, activists, and founders were floating between panels like festivalgoers chasing headline acts — only instead of music, everyone was debating AI sovereignty, digital rights, surveillance, and the future of humanity over sparkling water and networking snacks.And I couldn’t help but wonder… when did data protection become the hottest festival ticket in Europe?In this special CPDP Opening Night episode of Data & The City, we head backstage into Europe’s biggest festival of ideas — from political debates on innovation and regulation to startup culture, digital sovereignty, AI anxieties, and the strange beauty of people passionately arguing about GDPR in fabulous coats.In this episode:✨ Pre-Drinks & Privacy Notices — Welcome to the policy-palooza that is CPDP 2026.🎤 The Data Darling Kick-Off — AI, innovation, regulation, and Europe’s digital identity crisis take the main stage.And of course, don’t forget to pack your ultimate conference companion: Puzzling Privacy 3 — perfect for surviving panel overload, networking fatigue, and post-keynote existentialism with style. You can find it here:Global: https://lnkd.in/eDdSafzNUK: https://lnkd.in/en2ssvZmDE: https://lnkd.in/eMNxnsqYFR: https://lnkd.in/egyCFYFhES: https://lnkd.in/eJw78e_PIT: https://lnkd.in/eB8nySNgNL: https://lnkd.in/eWxDeKBMPL: https://lnkd.in/eUghwZERSE: https://lnkd.in/eKpN8R8wBE: https://lnkd.in/eS4X-cnkIE: https://lnkd.in/et5VZ_myJP: https://lnkd.in/e9qF2B27CA: https://lnkd.in/e5QQAyPgAU: https://lnkd.in/eZv4QjtA✨So grab your favourite festival drink, charge your phone, and put on your best conference couture…Because at CPDP, the future of privacy doesn’t just get discussed — it headlines. ✨Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/movediz/young-energy License code: 5SJMY6ERPGRFNTOSMusic from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/pecan-pie/cosmopolitan License code: D2KOFAABJD4GX2YJMusic from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/yeti-music/mavericks License code: ZJLJZGUYXIWXXQDH

Our latest episode The Algorithm Wears Prada has officially landed — and data darling, it’s serving deception, design, and digital drama in the most impeccably tailored way.There I was, about to close a website — decision made, exit planned — when suddenly the “leave” button felt harder to find than last season’s it-bag. The “accept all”? Front row, spotlight, impossible to miss. And I couldn’t help but wonder… when did our choices stop being ours, and start being styled for us?In this episode of Data & The City, we slip into the perfectly cut world of dark patterns — where design doesn’t just guide, it nudges, frames, and sometimes quietly decides. From shopping carts that fill themselves to subscriptions that cling like a bad ex, to interfaces that feel effortless but are anything but… this is your chic survival guide to spotting the seams behind the screen.This episode’s chapters:🧵 Dark Patterns Unstitched — From roach motels to confirmshaming and basket sneaking, we unravel the subtle design tricks shaping your choices every day. 🎙️ Behind the Seams with Dr. Mark Leiser — We sit down with a leading expert on deceptive design to explore how dark patterns go deeper than the interface — and what that means for your autonomy online. 👠 The Algorithm Wears Prada — From streaks to shopping and everything in between, we explore how design, psychology, and business models come together to keep you clicking — and what you can do to take back control.✨ Whether you’re a privacy enthusiast, policymaker, or just someone who’s ever wondered why “decline” feels so hard to find… this episode is for you.Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/pryces/aspire License code: SIYQYKG6WQYW68GW Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/ill-kitchen/belle License code: GMGKXN7WCT9JFA20 Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/slinky License code: TPKLIBBCKHWRKQVU Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/work-it License code: FATLA3QNKNX6JXBG Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/peter-hawkey/endless-sun License code: 5J2DXNDZUJ7RYSBA