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.

5 June 2023

#chatgpt #nlp #spain

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

Photo by Tobias Messer on Unsplash

30 May 2023

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.

25 May 2023

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.

CC-BY-SA Pattiz-Wikimedia Commons

16 May 2023

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.

massimo [notamax] nota on Flickr

17 April 2023

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.

6 April 2023

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).

6 April 2023

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.

4 April 2023

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.

CC-BY Nelson L. on Flickr

30 March 2023

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.

Foto von Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández auf Unsplash

28 March 2023

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.