Category: Social Science

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Home security

Digitalization has made it possible to step up home security at reasonable costs. The video surveillance of homes inside and the immediate surroundings are feasible through the use of connected cameras. The footage can reach sizable amounts of data, but intermittent recordings reduce or the AI-assisted detection of movements on a person’s property have become standard home security. Even for apartments the video enabled door bells and digital locks have improved the security level for those who are willing to invest in home security. A good neighborhood watch system is, of course, in most cases a superior solution. But neighbors change and social interaction is often reduced to minimal contact in most suburban regions. As with heating of homes, home security is also depending on what makes you feel comfortable at home. For some 20 degrees Celsius is enough and a solid mechanical lock is sufficient. Others have made very different experiences and want their digital devices directly linked to a professional security or police service. Like it or not, home security is part of the modern home just like many other digital devices or TV sets. 

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Rainwater Use

The use of rainwater is fairly easy to realize. Most homes in Europe and beyond have a roof drainage system in place. However, for decades the only concern was to get rid of the water as soon as possible. Nowadays, we think twice about it. The recovery and storage of rainwater for a separate use in a household has become a substantial cost saving exercise. In the Paris region in France you can expect on average 650 liters of rainwater per year per square meter. For a roof size of, for example, 70 m2 this yields about 45.000 liters per year. If you take a shower using 40 liters this allows you and your household to take 1125 showers or 3 persons almost one shower every day. Average household consumption in Paris is 120L/day, which adds up to about 44.000 liters per year for washing and toilet use. On a monthly basis with a storage capacity of 4000 liters of rainwater per adult person you should be able to manage your own consumption with your own roof drainage system. It is a rather simple use case. Maybe during dry summer months the calculation is a bit too optimistic, but the potential for a water autonomy of households in Europe is an option. In addition to the dry January, the no mow May, we shall have the no shower July next. 

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Sunny future

The use of solar panels for energy production is a standardized process with decent returns on investment. Combined with heat pumps and the potential of decentralized energy production, storage and consumption makes jointly for reducing emissions. The planning, investment and installation with digital tools allows to reap further benefits through the ease of coordination of all processes. The « All electric society » will take hold of homes and mobility. The climate and business case for this societal change is obvious, but the risk of new forms of inequality may arise between the one able to make such transitions now and the ones without the means to shoulder investments at the same time with other budget restrictions. The change has to start in our minds first before action will follow. In any case, the solar future takes hold of more and more people. Have you checked your amount of solar energy production already today?

Solar panel energy
Screenshot
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testing testing

Before the installation of the new AI chatbots or other agentic AI, they need profound testing. Wise statistics are quoted with the conviction: it is all about testing, testing, testing. Any systems that build on statistical reasoning (LLMs or machine learning) will behave erratically on what is known as an area with stronger impacts of, for example, statistical outliers. On both ends of the “normal distribution” of events or reasoning the statistical models and algorithms used in AI will produce “spurious” errors or have larger error margins on such topics a bit off the 95% of usual cases.
This means, testing, testing and testing again for the programmers of such AI systems before the release to the public or enterprise specific solutions. The tendency to keep costs of testing phases low  compared to developing costs bears obvious risks to the “precautionary principle” applied in the European Union. Testing is most important to check the WEIRD bias of the most basic AI systems. In this sense AI development has become a sociological exercise as they have to deal with “selection bias” of many kinds that could have very expensive legal consequences.
(Image: Extract from Bassano, Jacopo: Abduction of Europa by Zeus, Odessa Museum treasures at exhibition in Berlin Gemäldegalerie 2025-5).

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AI Workday

Our workdays have seen considerable changes throughout the last few days. The home office boom has allowed employees to work for extended hours from home. The there is an abundant literature on the effects of home office work on well-being or the work-life balance. Productivity gains could be reaped by employers and a better work-life balance was a lasting advantage for employees.
The increased use of AI specific to some occupations has introduced a new form of added  productivity for some occupations or professions, AI as complementarity, whereas other occupations suffered a higher risk of being substituted by AI applications.
Based on time diary data, the study by Wei Jiang et al. (2025) reports that users of AI have longer work time and reduced leisure time. Competitive labor markets increase the pressure to put in even higher hours of work. Nerds, just like workaholics, are likely to be drawn into excessive hours of work with increased health risks. Enterprises and consumers appear to be gaining more than the employees, who are at a higher risk of loosing out on their work-life balance over time.

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Archers destroyed

In the attempt to explain modern warfare to people, the Roman and medieval languages are staging a comeback. The archers have found their way from warfare into art history and back again. George Barros explains recent defensive actions by Ukrainian military forces as the strategy to put the archers out of power rather than the arches.
Destroyed or unfit air planes can no longer launch missiles or bombs. The Russian reserves are, however, fairly numerous, but the air strikes on the modern archers have demonstrated an astonishing military intelligence on the Ukrainian side. The technological advances of the Ukrainian military services may shift the balance or raise the costs of war to Russia, considerably.

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Travel Trumped

The travel and tourism sector of the U.S economy takes quite a hit from Trump‘s anti Canada and Europe tariffs and rhetoric. The Wall Street Journal (2025-6-3) reports data until May 2025  which show a 6% decline in international air travel and a 12% reduction in air arrivals from Europe (reference same period last year). Canadians seem to reduce their travels to the US as well, hitting many regions just across the long joint border. Airline bookings are an early warning indicator, but the more drastic figures are to be expected from the loss of spending tourists do not dispense in the US any more. Additionally, sizeable shares of US tourists travel to other countries due to the disgusting Trump rhetoric and spend their holiday budgets elsewhere. Trump‘s tariffs has focused a lot on redressing the trade balance of goods, but the balance of services like in tourism is worsening day by day now. The political economy of tariffs has multiple feedback effects which are quite hard to predict.

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Citizen Walk

Capitals like Paris and Berlin make great efforts to improve the walkability of their cities. After decades of focus on automotive traffic and mobility and the detrimental effects on health for several generations of people, the awareness that walking citizens are part of the solution is spreading. Citizens of Paris voted in a referendum to stop circulation of cars in 500 more streets. In Berlin pedestrians unite to mobilize more people to take to the streets as well and reclaim walking space. In high density spaces like metropolitan areas it is possible to reach all major amenities within a reasonable walking distance. The more spread out suburban area, however, leve fewer options to walk and carry your shopping or do your dily commute to work while walking. Fewer cars and pharmaceutical products sold would mean less „artificial economic growth, but more healthy and happy citizens. It will take decades again to realize such visions.

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Memories updated

In Berlin and many other German cities it is a regular practice to scrutinize the memory inscribed into street names. In order to correct the honors given to persons with a past as fascist or responsible for mass killings street names were changed at several points in the history of the city. Streets named after battle fields, for example, are a continuous point of discussion. It is important to keep the perspectives of victims in mind. Therefore, changing street names is a little contribution to rethink the role of places and persons. Such changes are sometimes very controversial as people become accustomed to names, some might even not care much at all. Recognition and responsibility, however, have a lot of currency in historical perspective. Overpainting like in the paintings from Gerhard Richter has an important function in society and can be one way of coping with the demons of the past.

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Retirement Recruitment

The debate that later retirement of seniors reduces the hiring of youth has received new attention. Paul Mohnen published a paper on the “retirement slowdown on the US youth labor market” , which demonstrates this “crowding out effect”. Moreover, the recruitment of middle aged workers is also affected, as job changes slowed down for these age groups. The surprising finding is that higher skilled youth suffers the largest reduction in employment opportunities and become “pulled” into lower skilled jobs as jo offers for lower skilled persons remained high during the observation periods (until 2017!). This evidence suggests that the well-documented firm-level effect of fewer retirement means less recruitment holds also for society as a whole. Knowing that recruitment during a recession affects young workers more than persons already in employment, the macro level effects in 2025 will be rather unfavorable for young labor market entrants. (Image Frans Hals 1625, Odessa Museum in Berlin exhibition 2025).