Explainer: Biometric recognition systems

Show Your Face and AI Tells Who You Are

Biometric recognition technologies can identify and monitor people. They are supposed to provide more security, but they put fundamental rights at risk, discriminate, and can even pave the way to mass surveillance.

Automation on the Move

The Automation of Fortress Europe: Behind the Black Curtain

The European Union poured 5 million euros into the development of a border surveillance system called NESTOR. When we tried to look into it, we were presented hundreds of redacted, blacked out pages.

Automation on the Move

Blurred Lines: When Civilian Research Projects Become of Military Interest

The EU does not fund border security research projects that mainly target military applications. Or do they? AlgorithmWatch found that in the realm of border security, civilian applications appeal enormously to the military.

Automation on the Move

Automating EU Borders, Broken Checks and Balances

For over a year, we have been looking into EU-funded border security research projects to assess their methodological approaches and ethical implications. We failed.

Automation on the Move

EMERALD – The One That Fell from Grace

Only one proposed border security research project did not meet the EU’s ethical requirements and was rejected, AlgorithmWatch found. What was so unique about this surveillance system?

Why we need to audit algorithms and AI from end to end

The full picture of algorithmic risks and harms is a complicated one. So how do we approach the task of auditing algorithmic systems? There are various attempts to simplify the picture into overarching, standardized frameworks; or focus on particular areas, such as understanding and explaining the “black box” of models. While this work and thinking have benefits, we need to look at systems from end to end to fully capture the reality of algorithmic harms.

Conference

A Civil Society Summit on Tech, Society, and the Environment

At the “Civil Society Summit on Tech, Society, and the Environment” convened by EDRi, AlgorithmWatch and more than 100 civil society partners and digital rights organizations from around the world come together with EU policymakers to foster digital rights in the EU and create accountability for the good of the people.

In the run-up to the German federal state elections:

Chatbots are still spreading falsehoods

In September 2024, federal state elections will be held in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg. AlgorithmWatch and CASM Technology have tested whether AI chatbots answer questions about these elections correctly and unbiased. The result: They are not reliable.

AlgorithmWatch is running a new round of its Algorithmic Accountability reporting fellowship

You can now apply to the fourth round of AlgorithmWatch's Algorithmic Accountability Reporting Fellowship. Running since January 2023, the program has connected journalists and researchers from across Europe and unveiled new stories about automated discrimination on the continent.

Explainer: AI in the workplace

Managed by the algorithm: how AI is changing the way we work

Automated decision-making systems control our work, whether in companies or via platforms that allocate jobs to independent contractors. Companies can use them to increase their efficiency, but such systems have a downside: They can also be used to surveil employees and often conceal the exploitation of workers and the environment.

Explainer: AI & Sustainability

Sustainable AI: A Contradiction in Terms?

Does Artificial Intelligence (AI) help tackle the climate crisis or is it an environmental sin worse than flying? We explain how much energy AI systems really consume, why we need better measurements, how AI can become more sustainable, and what all this has to do with the EU's AI Act.

Explainer: AI & labor law

What works and what doesn’t: AI systems and labor law

In many companies, employees are controlled by automated systems, especially in platform work. The use of such systems in the (virtual) workplace is not yet comprehensively regulated by law. New (draft) laws are intended to help workers protect their rights.

Explainer: Algorithmic discrimination

How and why algorithms discriminate

Automated decision-making systems contain hidden discriminatory prejudices. We’ll explain the causes, possible consequences, and the reasons why existing laws do not provide sufficient protection against algorithmic discrimination.

10 Questions about AI and elections

2024 is an important election year. While citizens all over the world get ready to cast their ballot, many people worry about AI: Are chatbots and fake images a threat to democracy? Can we still trust what we see online? We explain why the hype around AI and elections is somewhat overblown and which real risks we need to watch out for instead.

Campaign: ADM and People on the Move

Borders without AI

29,000 people have died in the Mediterranean over the past ten years while trying to reach the EU. You would think that the EU wanted this tragedy to stop and scientists across Europe were working feverishly on making this happen with the latest technology. The opposite is the case: With the help of so-called Artificial Intelligence, the walls are being raised, financed with taxpayers' money.

Explainer: ADM in the public sector

The algorithmic administration

Automating administration processes promises efficiency. Yet the procedures often put vulnerable people at a disadvantage, as shown by a number of examples throughout Europe. We’ll explain why using automation systems in the domain of public administration can be especially problematic and how risks may be detected at an early stage.

EU’s AI Act fails to set gold standard for human rights

Following a gruelling negotiation process, EU institutions are expected to conclusively adopt the final AI Act in April 2024. Here’s our round-up of how the final law fares against our collective demands.

Yet to be delivered: labor rights in the gig economy

Digitally controlled platform work is fundamentally changing working conditions while current legislation is lagging behind this development. Our joint campaign "Liefern am Limit" is advocating for the rights of Lieferando drivers.

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.

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.

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.

Social media

AlgorithmWatch suspends activities on X, formally known as Twitter

Starting today, AlgorithmWatch ceases publication on X/Twitter. The decision follows the continuous and rapid disintegration of the social network since its new owner took over a year ago.

AI Safety Summit

Missed Opportunities to Address Real Risks

The UK did not need to throw its full weight behind the Frontier Risks narrative - there are other approaches it could have taken.

The 5 Best Podcasts on Algorithms and Work

Interested in how algorithmic systems affect us at work? Here are some well-researched podcast episodes to get drawn into.