Stories

What artificial butter tells us about Artificial Intelligence

What Ireland’s Data Center Crisis Means for the EU’s AI Sovereignty Plans

Ireland is now home to one of the highest concentrations of data centers in the world. What began as a quiet build-out of server farms around Dublin has expanded into an industrial presence with an ecological footprint that dominates the country’s electricity system. In the meanwhile, Big Tech has falsely portrayed itself as a partner in green transition.

Platform work regulation is failing cleaners

Researchers studying algorithmic management have long had a blind spot when it comes to cleaning apps’ workers. The evidence now emerging paints a nuanced picture: algorithms play a far smaller role than they do for drivers and couriers, yet cleaners still face severe consequences.

Germany’s Data Center Boom is Pushing the Power Grid to its Limits

As Europe pursues the vision of becoming an AI continent, the AI infrastructure boom in Germany is already exposing the limits of the energy supply and physical infrastructure. And the question remains: What price will society and consumers ultimately pay?

Are all LLMs the same? I set out to measure their similarity.

AI-generated text often has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi of monotony and blandness, whatever model is used. An attempt to put a number on this phenomenon shows once more that measuring meaning is close to impossible.

Why left-wing parties are not pushing for GenAI

I'm often asked why there are so few positive visions of AI. After all, machines can make work less tedious and, provided the benefits are shared fairly, increase the well-being of all. But generative AI does not quite work that way.

How to Resist Data Centers: A Guide For Local Communities in Europe

As data centers proliferate across the globe, local groups are mobilising to document the severe harm these facilities inflict on their regions and the immense strain they place on energy resources. We have compiled a set of practical steps that communities can take to educate themselves when a data center is planned in their area, and to address its potential impacts.

An AI slop farm stole my identity

AI slop is everywhere. By one estimate, roughly one in five articles referenced on Google Discover is automatically generated. It's less known that AI slop farms steal the identity of existing journalists and influencers to increase the odds of being picked up by these algorithms.

Remote biometric identification is a colonial boomerang

While many feel – rightly – outraged by how live face recognition and other remote biometric identification infringes on our freedom in public spaces, I think it misses – in part – the point of the technology. To understand its purpose, we need to look into colonial history.

AI avatars have been in politics for a decade, but Diella is different

Albania’s new “Minister for AI” is an LLM-powered avatar. AI has been touted since at least 2017 to replace politicians, but the Albanian software, which shall be in charge of public procurement, opens the gates to corruption on a new scale.

For politicians, TikTok’s algorithm is a handy bogeyman

A parliamentary report about TikTok has received lots of media attention in France in the last few weeks. It is interesting in its own right, and it's also a prime example of how many European politicians behave when faced with an issue related to algorithms.

AI Jesus: What’s left of Pope Francis’ guidance?

A church in Austria put an AI-generated exhibition on display. This does not exactly fit with the Vatican's guidelines on AI.

Flagged by the Algorithm: Klarna Thought I’m a Fraudster

Flexible payment company Klarna’s automated systems flagged a user for allegedly failing to pay for an online order. She had been told that a glitch in the platform prevented her from paying, and then Klarna’s algorithms sent her straight to a defaulter list she could not leave without an administrative hassle. Here is her story.

(When) Will AI Improve Women’s Health? 

Across Europe, AI solutions are increasingly being researched and piloted for diagnosing and treating gynecological diseases. While they are still only slowly adopted in healthcare, they are increasingly pushed to become more common.

The AI Revolution Comes With the Exploitation of Gig Workers 

Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies manage the human work behind AI development. However, they face accusations of worker exploitation, underpayment and wage theft. Big tech companies benefit from this work model.

Infrastructure or Intrusion? Europe’s Conflicted Data Center Expansion

Data centers, cornerstones of the EU’s digital ambitions, are expanding rapidly across the continent. Public responses to this digital prioritization vary dramatically. Some communities embrace them as engines of development; others push back, citing threats to the environment and their quality of life.

What Are Green Algorithms Anyway?

European governments are encouraging the development of so-called “green” algorithms and “green” AI. The term is ambiguous: they are not always meant as systems designed to be sustainable.

Work-shy Students, Outsourced Thinking: GenAI in Education

While public bodies see an urgent need to integrate the use of generative Artificial Intelligence tools in schools' curricula, teachers already notice a sharp decline in performance and creativity.

Can Algorithms Close My Bank Account?

Banks use automated systems to monitor customers and their transactions to fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism. But sometimes, these systems make mistakes that lead to the blocking or closure of people’s bank accounts. The phenomenon is called de-banking.

Scams and Shadow Workers: A Black Market is Selling European Accounts for AI Training

AI data annotation companies are losing control of their supply chain. Criminal networks are taking over the work account management.

Spanish National Police Halts Veripol, Its Flagship AI To Detect False Reports

The Ministry of Interior stated that it dismissed the system on the grounds that it had been proved being of no validity in judicial proceedings.

The Healthcare Uberization is Slipping Under the Radar

Nurses, healthcare professionals, and childcare workers increasingly turn to algorithmically managed apps that connect them with hospitals, clinics, and households in need of temporary staff. Born in an economy shaped by gig work, these platforms replicate many of the same structural problems.

False Positives: A Podcast on Financial Discrimination & De-banking

AlgorithmWatch and Agence France-Presse (AFP) released a podcast on automated discrimination in the financial sector, based in a six-month long investigation conducted in the framework of our Algorithmic Accountability Reporting fellowship.

The Rise and Fall of a Predictive Policing Pioneer

KeyCrime was a first of its kind, a company dedicated to using Artificial Intelligence to identify recurring patterns in serial crime. The European Union’s AI Act, however, dealt the project a mortal blow. But the idea lives on.

For Trans People, Online Transitioning Can Be a Nightmare

Just a formality? Updating one’s online identity can be like running the gauntlet and a flawed data architecture only makes it worse for the transgender community.