Week 20/2026

You know it's true

Art, Unknown artist, at Chez Bernard (where I had a nice lunch).

NSFW (Nikolaus' Song For the Week)

This week's song is a perfect metaphor with a beautiful melody, given to me (and now you) by Asaf Avidan.

Soundwise, I like the Spotify version more

than the unedited live version I found on YouTube, but the latter comes with a nice video as a bonus.

Asaf Avidan will perform in Linz on July 1st. What a voice!

Retrospect

Public Media Funding Reform

The issue is still very much on the agenda. Stefan Lassnig and Stefan Kaltenbrunner did two very relevant episodes on the matter in the excellent podcast "Ganz offen gesagt".

The first is an interview with first study's main author Andy Kaltenbrunner,

the second with the second paper's sole author Reinhold Gmeinbauer

Even more than before I am stunned by the differences in the two papers (not so much in the positions but in their depth) and how much, however, the second profits from constant comparisons with the first paper.

Sebastian Esser from Krautreporter (that I recommend again, their newsletter is the first text I read in the morning) wrote a relevant, yet perhaps (too?) optimistic text on how he thinks that media can survive right wing attacks (in short: paying users).

The Datum Foundation published a group photo of the event "Acht Tische für die Vierte Gewalt" (see Weekly 18/2026) that is a little like a "Brueghel-Wimmelbild" with (almost) all the Austrian media bubble in it :-) - (you can probably see that I am standing right at the right place ;-) )

and - more importantly - a 30 pages summary of the outcomes.

Digital iLab

I did the introductory session for our legal mentoring services in digital ilab - one of UNIVIE's actions to support innovation and startup culture - on Monday.

It's a wonderful opportunity to see how many interesting ideas for spin offs or start ups raise at UNIVIE and how useful legal support can be in the early phases of these projects. Anna, Boris, Hannah, Julia and Marie-Catherine take care of the legal mentoring this year and will work with 8 startup teams, well supported by UNIVIE's entrepreneurship team Marco Masia, Clara Conrad-Billroth and Ardita Gjeçi. The venue is placed in Apostelgasse 23 which is not totally close to UNIVIE's main building, but a very vivid and friendly place with a supportive, diverse and inspiring team culture. I was very impressed by the maturity and the skills of the students (who are more young entrepreneurs than students here). If you are somehow affiliated with UNIVIE and have an innovative idea - contact them!

Copyright

The Vienna Legal Literacy Project did an introduction on copyright with Marie–Therese Wirtz from Schönherr.

AI: Fundamental Rights Risks

Dr. David Reichel from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presented the findings of FRA's report, Assessing High-Risk Artificial Intelligence: Fundamental Rights Risks in a breakfast lecture at the Department, wonderfully organised by Julia, Selen, Klaudia (and others) .

It was a very nice and well received event with a fully packed seminar room. I appreciated, in particular, how well Reichel is oriented about the internal perspectives on the political games played and how openly he answered questions.

Prospect

Vacancy

We have a wonderful position to fill at the department: in our new interdisciplinary research platform at UNIVIE. We will conduct science communication research with a specific focus on the question of trust in science. This research will be interdisciplinary, and led by researchers in Communication Science (Sophie Lecheler, Jakob-Moritz Eberl), Computer Science (Torsten Möller), Psychology (Barbara Schober and myself) Science and Technology Studies (Sarah Davies) and law (Yours truly).

Here's an overview on all available positions, and here's the job offer in law:

Florian Möslein

A new full professor joined the department this week: Prof. Dr. Florian Möslein, LL.M. We are very proud that UNIVIE managed to convince him to join and are very grateful for all the additional perspectives and ideas he will bring. Möslein comes from Marburg University He's an outstanding, internationally visible and highly productive legal scholar with a research focus that fits perfectly. He's already present on the department's website and on UNIVIE's website introducing new professors.

Legal Perspectives on AI in Medicine and Art

I will have two gigs on Tuesday. In the morning, I will speak at dHealth 2026:

The venue is remarkable: Schönbrunn Castle. Paid event, registration necessary, no stream (as far as I know).

In the afternoon I will speak at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste on the impact of AI in art studies.

I believe that this is an internal only event.

#arsboni

Wednesday 13/05 will bring two magnificent #arsboni sessions.

At 12.00 I will speak with Katharina Mager-Mičijević, co-founder of AI.Tonomy and co-host of the wonderful podcast Wunderpanik.

I very warmly recommend to follow this for a very tech-savy, smart, well balanced analysis of current AI-phenomenons that have social and legal implications. I found her and her podcast on LinkedIn due to a convincing post about Anthropic's Project Glasswing (see also Weekly 17/2026 on Glasswing).

This comes in a very timely moment, as the trilogue on the digital omnibus AI regulation finally ended with an agreement on Thursday this week.

It doesn't astonish me too much that this is coming now, but I will be very interested to see how they put the "Nudifier" app issue into legal terminology.

Later that day, at 14.00 on Wednesday 13/05, we will welcome former Member of Parliament Dr. Stephanie Krisper talking about her career and her legal thinking. I always admired her fundamental rights oriented and intellectually brilliant approach in politics, and I was also quite impressed by her decision to leave politics. This episode is part of a series addressing in particular some of my young(er) students.

Look and Feel

Banksy

Banksy (see Weekly 17/2026) dropped a new piece of art in London.

There's a confirmation reel (that is quite ironic and funny) on his Insta. (Isn't it ironic that he uses Instagram for this, btw?).

Triumph of Failure

Thanks to the kind recommendation of a reader in Weekly 17/2026 I discovered the universe Peter Waldeck - and in particular his novel "Triumph des Scheiterns" - that had been unknown to me so far.

This is - in particular - a nice read for a male Viennese University professor in his 50ies as the story is taking place in Vienna and is written from the perspective of a male University professor in his 60ies. It is, above everything else, a brutally funny deconstruction of male narcissism in academia and a reference to Brueghel.

The Triumph of Death, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triumph_of_Death#/media/File:Triumph_of_Death_Brueghel.jpg

I'm old enough that the protagonist's name 'Caspar Orlando Tuppy' reminds me of the former UNIVIE rector, FWF and OEAW president and minister of science, Hans Tuppy - and I assume that I share this with Waldeck who was born in 1970.

I was a little irritated by the fact that I am this time - very differently from Weekly 14/2025 - somehow - of the same opinion with Christian Schachinger who wrote a positive review in Der Standard. Dominika Meindl did the same for Der Falter.