Stories

Greece is planning a €40m automated surveillance system at borders with North Macedonia and Albania

The European Commission wants Greece to build an automated wall to prevent some people from leaving the country. Locals are not enthusiastic, but their opinion counts for little.

The year we waited for action: 2023 in review

Exactly one year ago, I wrote that automated systems might be regulated for good in 2023. This was too optimistic. Not only did European institutions fail to pass the AI Act, even in its watered-down version; the rise of generative models brought us to a new level of danger.

Plant-identifying apps: good for amateurs, bad for students

Apps that automatically identify plants have become immensely popular among amateur botanists. While they might help them in their hobby, they also made inroads among students and professionals, with potentially serious effects.

Platform regulation

Not a solution: Meta’s new AI system to contain discriminatory ads

Meta has deployed a new AI system on Facebook and Instagram to fix its algorithmic bias problem for housing ads in the US. But it’s probably more band-aid than AI fairness solution. Gaps in Meta’s compliance report make it difficult to verify if the system is working as intended, which may preview what’s to come from Big Tech compliance reporting in the EU.

Some image generators produce more problematic stereotypes than others, but all fail at diversity

Automated image generators are often accused of spreading harmful stereotypes, but studies usually only look at MidJourney. Other tools make serious efforts to increase diversity in their output, but effective remedies remain elusive.

Algorithmic blood donations in Ukraine

On paper, Donor.ua solves many of the inefficiencies of blood donorship in Ukraine. It connects people willing to donate with those in need thanks to a matching algorithm. But implementation proves difficult, and the war is not the only reason for it.

Food delivery service Glovo: tracking riders’ private location and other infringements

A recent investigation by Tracking Exposed shows that Glovo’s subsidiary in Italy, Foodinho, registers couriers’ off-shift location and shares it with unauthorized parties. The delivery app provider has also been found to have created a “hidden” credit score for their riders.

Spain under shock as schoolboys create fake nudes using generative models

In a small Spanish town, several schoolboys used generative models to create fake nudes of their fellow pupils. Police, prosecutors, and parents are at a loss on how to pursue a case that shows, once again, that women are the main victims of deepfakes.

Generative Artificial Intelligence is slowly entering children’s lives

A leak from Amazon gave us a glimpse of what they have planned for youngsters - and parents. How much personal data do we (or should we) accept handing over when it comes to our children?

Automated navigation systems are still wreaking havoc on small towns’ streets

Apps like Google and Waze are redirecting traffic to secondary roads that are not equipped to handle the traffic, disrupting their infrastructure. Small cities have little capacity to change this.

Algorithmic Accountability Reporting

Peeking into the Black Box

Welfare fraud scoring, predictive policing, or ChatGPT: Lawmakers and government officials around the world are increasingly relying on algorithms, and most of them are completely opaque. Algorithmic Accountability Reporting takes a closer look at how they work and the effects they have. But only very few media outlets conduct such reporting. Why?

200 students failed their exams. Automated proctoring could be to blame, but doubts remain 

In Spain, 200 students of the International University of La Rioja failed their exams. Some blame a glitch in the proctoring software, but it might have been a change in the system’s rules. University officials gave contradictory explanations, leaving students to fight against bureaucracy and the assessment of a machine.

AI-powered surveillance

In Mannheim, an automated system reports hugs to the police

Mannheim, a large city on the Rhine, deployed a video system that claims to automatically detect physical violence in some streets. It can confuse hugging with strangling, and it is unclear whether it can actually prevent violence.

The Automated Hunt for Cybergroomers

Algorithms have been developed to help track down cybergroomers, who stalk minors online. But the reliability of automated systems is controversial – and they can even criminalize children and teens.

ChatGPT-like models boom, but small languages remain in shadows

A lack of source material, investment, and commercial prioritization are all holding back the development of generative models and automated moderation for languages spoken in smaller countries and regions.

Let the Games Begin: France’s Controversial Olympic Law Legitimizes Automated Surveillance Testing at Sporting Events

Building up from a decade of surveillance creep, the new French law is yet another example of how sporting events are used to normalize automated surveillance systems in public spaces.

The AI Mobility Revolution in the Countryside: Optimism versus Reality

Frieder Schmelzle from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) gives an overview of the current mobility and digital strategies of the German state governments on the issue of public transport connections in rural regions. Great expectations lie on the automation of local transport. However, this overshadows more fundamental questions about sustainable mobility in rural areas.

Abu Dhabi petrodollars land in European AI but opacity sparks criticism

Abu Dhabi, a small petrostate, announced a major investment in Artificial Intelligence in Spain. Some academics and activists suspect that the emirate may not be interested solely in furthering scientific research.

The algorithm that blew up Italy’s school system 

An algorithm was supposed to save time by allocating teachers on short-term contracts to schools automatically. Failures in the code and in the design severely disrupted teachers’ lives.

The Opportunities and Risks of AI in Energy Supply

Interview on the use of AI in energy supply with Friederike Rohde and Josephin Wagner from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW).

With Google as My Neighbor, Will There Still Be Water?

Interview with Dr. Sebastián Lehuedé from the Centre of Governance and Human Rights at the University of Cambridge on activist groups protesting the harmful environmental impacts of data centers.

AI surveillance rumors: gay adult content creators face sanctions

Early last month, many gay fetish accounts were charged for distributing online porn to minors, a criminal offense in Germany. Many suspect an automated tool, but no one knows for sure.

Basque Country: how an algorithm to assess the risk of gender-based violence sees people from “different cultures”

Police in the Basque Country use an algorithm to predict gender-based violence. The tool's accuracy is unclear, and it leaves a lot of room for the personal opinions of police officers.

In Germany, a daycare allocation algorithm is separating siblings

To allocate this year's limited number of daycare slots, the city of Münster used an algorithm with a known limitation: it did not direct siblings to the same school. Parents were not pleased.

Reels of Fortune: Instagram-shaped memories for a bigger reach

The algorithm used to do it for us, now we do it for the algorithm: Platforms seek data on what people think good memories are. One user tells us how she constructs an end-of-year Recap Reel on Instagram.