AlgorithmWatch is a human rights organization based in Berlin and Zurich. We fight for a world where algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) do not weaken justice, democracy, and sustainability but strengthen them.

AlgorithmWatch proposals on mitigating election risks for online platforms

Despite hopes that the Digital Services Act could protect against online risks during upcoming elections, this looks increasingly unlikely due to delays and issues in implementation. The EU Commission has sought input on how to mitigate election risks, and AlgorithmWatch has responded.

"Voting" by justgrimes is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Story

19 February 2024

#austria #publicsector

Austria’s social security invests over €50m in AI – just  for bookkeeping?

The company that manages the technical infrastructure of Austria’s health insurance system passed a massive tender for AI services. The plan is shrouded in secrecy, even though the company’s track record urges caution.

View of the building hosting IT-SV's offices. CC-BY-SA Viennpixelart

Fighting in the dark: How Europeans push back against rogue AI

Automated systems go astray, they contribute to child sexual violence, deny people their social benefits, or block organizations' online presence. The affected people often feel helpless when their rights are violated, but some are taking up the fight while current laws fail to protect the victims.

An illustration of the protagonists of the story. Top: Camille Lextray, Jerzy Afanasjew. Bottom: Anastasia Dedyukhina, Miriam Al Adib, Soizic Pénicaud.
Léo Verrier

Blog

14 February 2024

#dsa #publicsphere

DSA Day and platform risks

Got Complaints? Want Data? Digital Service Coordinators will have your back – or will they?

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is the EU’s new regulation against risks from online platforms and search engines. It has been in effect since 2023, but 17 February 2024 marks “DSA Day,” on which many of the regulation’s most impactful provisions come into force.

Story

6 February 2024

#chatgpt

How not to: We failed at analyzing public discourse on AI with ChatGPT

We wanted to collect data on how newspapers wrote about AI. Swayed by the sirens of OpenAI, we thought that using a Large Language Model was the best way to do such a massive text analysis. Alas, we failed. But LLMs are probably not to blame.

Foto von Flipboard auf Unsplash

Blog

22 January 2024

#fellowship

Third cohort of AlgorithmWatch fellows will investigate discrimination in the financial sector

As part of AlgorithmWatch's algorithmic accountability reporting fellowship, seven journalists and researchers will work together to unveil discriminating outcomes and practices arising from the use of automated decision making systems in Europe's financial sector.

Foto von Erol Ahmed auf Unsplash

New study: Research on Microsoft Bing Chat

AI Chatbot produces misinformation about elections

Bing Chat, the AI-driven chatbot on Microsoft’s search engine Bing, makes up false scandals about real politicians and invents polling numbers. Microsoft seems unable or unwilling to fix the problem. These findings are based on a joint investigation by AlgorithmWatch and AI Forensics, the final report of which has been published today. We tested if the chatbot would provide factual answers when prompted about the Bavarian, Hessian, and Swiss elections that took place in October 2023.

Publications

Read our comprehensive reports, analyses and working papers on the impact and ethical questions of algorithmic decision-making, written in collaboration with our network of researchers and civil society experts. See our publications

Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

14 February 2024

Ensuring Legitimacy in Stakeholder Engagement: The ‘5 Es’ Framework

The DSA foresees that external stakeholders – such as independent experts, civil society groups, and industry representatives – engage in its rollout and enforcement. To help ensure these processes' legitimacy, we have developed the “5 E’s Framework” encompassing the guiding principles: Equity, Expertise, Effectiveness, Empowering, and Expanding Competencies.

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Journalistic stories

How does automated decision-making effect our daily lives? Where are the systems applied and what happens when something goes wrong? Read our journalistic investigations on the current use of ADM systems and their consequences. Read our stories

Foto von Salemi Wenda auf Unsplash

3 January 2024

Work inside the machine: How pre-saves and algorithmic marketing turn musicians into influencers

Streaming platforms allow users to add upcoming tracks to their playlists, in order to listen to them as soon as they are released. While this sounds harmless, it changed the habits of independent musicians, who feel they have to adapt to yet another algorithm.

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Positions

Read our responses and expert analyses on current political and regulatory developments concerning automated decision-making. Read our positions

5 March 2024

Press release

The Council of Europe’s Convention on AI: No free ride for tech companies and security authorities!

The Convention on AI is intended to be the first legally binding international agreement on AI. The final round of negotiations will take place in Strasbourg starting 11 March 2024. The members of the Council of Europe (including the EU member states) and non-members such as the US, Japan and Canada will also be sitting around the negotiating table. AlgorithmWatch, over 90 civil society organizations, and prominent academics are calling on the negotiating states to regulate companies’ and national security authorities’ use of AI.

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Blog

Upcoming events, campaigns and updates from our team – here is where you get your news about AlgorithmWatch. Visit our blog

5 March 2024

On our own behalf

Change of shareholders at AlgorithmWatch

Angela Müller, Head of AlgorithmWatch CH in Zurich, has become a shareholder of Berlin-based AW AlgorithmWatch gGmbH. Lorenz Matzat, co-founder of the organization and long-standing shareholder, has left the NGO to concentrate on his new company JETZT STUDIOS.

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Projects

Our research projects take a specific look at automated decision-making in certain sectors, ranging from sustainablity, the COVID-19 pandemic, human resources to social media platfroms and public discourse. You can also get involved! Engage and contribute, for example with a data donation! Learn more about our projects

Khari Slaughter for AlgorithmWatch

5 October 2023

New research

ChatGPT and Co: Are AI-driven search engines a threat to democratic elections?

A new study by AlgorithmWatch and AI Forensics shows that using Large Language Models like Bing Chat as a source of information for deciding how to vote is a very bad idea. As their answers to important questions are partly completely wrong and partly misleading, the likes of ChatGPT can be dangerous to the formation of public opinion in a democracy.

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