Konrad Kollnig

Back in September 2021, the UK government launched a public consultation on the planned reform of its data protection law. My research group at the University of Oxford has formulated a response to this consultation – a heroic team effort.

UK data protection law is currently modelled on EU requirements, particularly the GDPR from 2016 and the 2009 ePrivacy Directive. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc, the government sees a wealth of new opportunities in the reform of the current legal requirements around the protection of personal data.

It seems like algorithms increasingly rule the world. Only this summer, the debacle around the A level results in the UK demonstrated what far-reaching consequences the use of algorithms can have. How did algorithms become what they are? Might algorithms soon replace human decision-making altogether?

This article was published in the bi-yearly publication of the Computer Science Department Oxford.

Many apps collect detailed data about your life. Some apps share this data with hundreds of companies from around the world. Should you be worried? To help you find answers, we at Human Centred Computing in the Department of Computer Science are developing TrackerControl, a new privacy app.

Die Bundesregierung plant die Einführung einer Bürgernummer: eine Identifikationsnummer für jeden, der einen Wohnsitz in Deutschland hat. Datenschützer warnen vor einem Überwachungsstaat. Besteht wirklich Grund zur Sorge oder wird bloß Panik geschürt?

Mit diesem Thema beschäftige ich mich in Oxfords neuer Studentenzeitschrift, The Flete.

This article is part of a series. Next week, I’ll release a short report on digital learning.

The arguably most studied problem in education is how to conduct education. Whenever someone provides education, this necessarily involves thinking about how to bring across the material at hand.

Education has not changed meaningfully over the course of human history. Whether in Plato’s Academy back in Ancient Greece or in schools nowadays, teaching usually means the transfer of knowledge from a teacher to students.

How does learning work then, what makes it efficient, and what are the opportunities for digital technologies?