Critical AI Lab

Who is Really Fueling your #AI? Join us on September 17 to discuss precarization and resistance in #datawork, with the @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social, @milamiceli.bsky.social and @superrrnetwork.bsky.social. Don't miss your chance to meet some of the shadow workforce behind AI. buff.ly/dHMHXPV

Huge congrats to @milamiceli.bsky.social 🌟

This is a recognition to all of us making the Data Workers’ Inquiry project!

Who is Really Fueling your AI? Precarization and Resistance in Data Work. Join us for an evening with the hidden workforce behind AI, get insights into how workers organize against its harsh realities and learn more about our research project The Data Workers’ Inquiry.

The event is in-person:

📅 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝘁𝗵.
⏱️ 𝟭𝟳:𝟬𝟬 – 𝟭𝟵:𝟯𝟬
📍@weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social, Hardenbergstrasse 32, in Berlin.
🌐 R𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: www.weizenbaum-institut.de/news/detail/...

For those unable to attend, we'll be live-streaming here: www.youtube.com/live/jA3wSMe...

Join the conversation!

Flyer on the public event: Program: Keynote by Dr. Milagros Miceli "AI is a lot of (data) work: on hidden labor, resistance, and academic solidarity" Panel featuring four data workers: "the workers who make Ai possible" 17.09.2025, 17:00-19:30, Weizenbaum-Institut, Hardenbergstrasse 32, 10623 Berlin

📣 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘!
We're excited to co-organize a transnational data worker assembly together with @superrrnetwork.bsky.social on September 16-17 in Berlin.
While the first day is closed-door, we’ll host a public event on the 17th.
👉 Program and registration: www.weizenbaum-institut.de/news/detail/...

Thrilled to welcome 13 data workers to the transnational assembly co-hosted by @superrrnetwork.bsky.social & @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social, and honored to give a keynote at the public event on the 17th.
Join us @weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social!
Registration: tickets.weizenbaum-institut.de/jl89e/

Who is really fueling your #AI? 🤔 It's not just code & algorithms. Behind every LLM are millions of people, often in invisible roles. Join us, @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social, @milamiceli.bsky.social @superrrnetwork.bsky.social & on Sept. 17 to hear directly from data workers!
🔗 buff.ly/2ug32Bx

@milamiceli.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social at the Weizenbaum Institute yesterday to discuss Hanna’s and @emilymbender.bsky.social’s new book “The AI Con”.

Organizing Across Borders, by Joan Kinyua The Data Labelers Association is developing mutual support structures and fighting for better working conditions. This inquiry recounts our path to founding it and acknowledges our ongoing partnership...

🚨NEW INQUIRY!

@joan1k.bsky.social from @datalabelers.bsky.social discusses beginnings, gratitude, and partnerships in this piece.

@dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social is an active partner of the DLA, and we remain united in the fight for the rights of data workers worldwide!

data-workers.org/DLA/

Book Presentation "THE AI CON: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want" Presenting her groundbreaking new book co-authored with Emily M. Bender, “THE AI CON: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want”, Alex Hanna unpacks the myths and marketing that surro...

Here's the live stream if you want to join online: youtube.com/live/54i0VSo...

Join us next week to talk about THE #AI CON! Alex Hanna unpacks the myths and marketing that surround today’s #AI discourse, and @milamiceli.bsky.social‬ brings in critical insights from @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social‬ about the invisible labor behind AI systems. June 30, 6pm 👉 buff.ly/47fMwFf

THE AI CON How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want

Next Monday, we are thrilled to welcome @alexhanna.bsky.social to the @weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social for a conversation about her new book, THE AI CON: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want (thecon.ai)

🔗Register here: tickets.weizenbaum-institut.de/sgvbf/

Taking content moderators' suffering and mental health serious requires evidence-based intervention. Kauna has a concrete proposal!

We’re working on securing funds to make Kaunas much-needed program a reality. Reach out if you’re in a position to help!

Trigger warning!

This is more than a critique, it’s a call to action. Kauna urges tech platforms like Meta to replace performative “resilience” programs with real, trauma-informed care. These workers are critical to the integrity of our digital world; it’s time they were treated as such.

She presents a scalable, evidence-based intervention designed to address the unique mental health challenges these workers face.

In her report “A Mental Health Intervention for Data Workers”, Kauna - former content moderator and now clinical psychologist - offers a solution grounded in both personal experience and professional expertise.

Our brand NEW INQUIRY just dropped!

Every day, data workers, content moderators, annotators, and labellers confront some of the internet’s most harmful content to keep digital spaces safe for others.

A Mental Health Intervention for Data Workers, by Kauna Ibrahim Malgwi A scalable mental health intervention designed for data workers, grounded in hands‑on insight and evidence‑based practice from my dual perspective as a former content moderator and a registered clinic...

📢NEW INQUIRY‼️

Data workers see the internet’s worst, so the rest of us don’t have to.

Former content moderator and clinical psychologist, Kauna Malgwi, collaborated with DWI to design a mental health plan tailored to data workers' needs: data-workers.org/kauna/

Wondering what can be done to improve menatl health outcomes for content moderators? Kauna Malgwi and the Data workers' Inquiry have some answers

A Mental Health Intervention for Data Workers, by Kauna Ibrahim Malgwi A scalable mental health intervention designed for data workers, grounded in hands‑on insight and evidence‑based practice from my dual perspective as a former content moderator and a registered clinic...

🚨New Inquiry!! Today, we present Kauna’s mental healthcare proposal tailored specifically to data workers - addressing PTSD, burnout, depression, and more. Her plan delivers a way forward for those affected and a call for change. data-workers.org/kauna/
#MentalHealthInTech #DataWorkersInquiry

4/4 This work has been a joined Project between the @weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social, @cais-research.bsky.social and @hertieschool.bsky.social with the co-authors @dawiet.bsky.social, Amin Oueslati, Dimitri Staufer @dimitristaufer.bsky.social, Lena Pohlmann, Simon Munzert, Hendrik Heuer.

3/4 They conclude that using commercial APIs for content moderation risks silencing legitimate speech and failing to protect online platforms from harmful speech!
Read the preprint here: pdf.arxiv.org/pdf/2503.01623

2/4 This Paper evaluates five content moderation APIs. They find that all APIs have problems correctly identifying implicit hate speech - like sarcasm. At the same time, the APIs tend to misclassify content related to Black, LGBTQIA+, Jewish, and Muslim people as hate speech.

1/4 Exciting News!
David Hartmann et al.'s paper, "Lost in Moderation: How Commercial Content Moderation APIs Over- and Under-Moderate Group-Targeted Hate Speech and Linguistic Variations," has been accepted to CHI Conference 2025.

Let's take care of the Internet! @dawiet.bsky.social was recently featured in the "Intenet Governance Explained"-Podcast. Dive into the episode to learn more about the risks of using AI in content moderation and the working conditions of content moderators. open.spotify.com/episode/3u2i...

What Knowledge Do We Produce from Social Media Data and How? | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction HCI and CSCW research that uses social media data to make inferences about individuals and communities has proliferated in the last decade. Previous studies have elaborated on methodological concerns ...

Just published with a Best Paper award! Adriana Alvarado, Tianling Yang & @milamiceli.bsky.social examine the discursive strategies in the papers that combine social media data and computational methods.
doi.org/10.1145/3701...

Diskriminierung Algorithmen sind ebenso wenig neutral, wie die Menschen, die sie programmieren oder auf deren Daten sie basieren. Das zeigt sich auch in der alltäglichen Nutzung von KI-Anwendungen, z.B. Deepfakes.

New article from Dr. Fatma Elsafoury: Dive into the different facets of discrimination and bias in AI algorithms, focusing on the growing deep-fake industry. Stay informed—read and share widely! www.bpb.de/lernen/beweg... (english: efatmae.github.io/posts/2024/1...)

Addressing the regulatory gap: moving towards an EU AI audit ecosystem beyond the AI Act by including civil society - AI and Ethics The European legislature has proposed the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) to regulate platforms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) products. We review to what extent thi...

New publication by @dawiet.bsky.social et al.!
Their research exposes a critical regulatory gap in the AI Act & DSA, calling for a diverse AI audit ecosystem that empowers civil society and affected groups to ensure oversight and accountability doi.org/10.1007/s436...