The growing use of workplace data is a “slippery slope,” says D&S’s @aihathing.bsky.social. “Any type of activity can be interpreted as indicative of performance,” even when it's not, and “technical systems might not be able to parse why data is missing.” www.inc.com/georgia-fear...

Meta Workers on Maternity and Medical Leave Claim Tech Giant's AI Punished Them for Being Away

The tech giant says people—not AI—made its layoff decisions. Twenty-six employees say the data guiding those decisions punished legally protected absences.

inc.com

I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure. Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.

“Workers pushed out of the U.S. get rehired cheaper in India: The winner of this structural shift isn't the returning workers, nor local Indian talent. It's the U.S. Big Tech firms reabsorbing the same engineers into their Global Capability Centers (GCCs).” www.teamblind.com/blog/workers...

On the @convergencemag.com podcast, D&S's @cariatida.bsky.social & @aihathing.bsky.social talk about how AI adoption is hollowing out workers' rights and exacerbating inequalities — and how to build a future that prioritizes workers over the industry’s bottom line. convergencemag.com/podcast/ai-v...

AI vs. Workers w/ Alexandra Mateescu and Aiha Nguyen

Discussing a new report from Data and Society Research Institute about how AI is already disempowering workers and what to do about it.

convergencemag.com

NYC friends what are you doing on Thursday April 30? How about joining me and @alexhanna.bsky.social for our first ever live taping of Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000? www.eventbrite.com/e/mystery-ai...

Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 LIVE!

The Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 pod is coming to New York for our first LIVE show! We’ll be at Starr Bar in Brooklyn on April 30.

eventbrite.com

📣 New! @cariatida.bsky.social, @aihathing.bsky.social & Sanjay Pinto argue for understanding the sprint to create the "AI-first economy" not as the logical march of progress, but as a series of deliberate economic decisions that risk harming workers in ways old & new. datasociety.net/library/last...

The Bulletin made a short video presentation to accompany the article. It's great especially if you want to see me gesticulating wildly at every word I say (My parents used to call me Magnus Pyke when I was a child, and that clearly hasn't gone away) www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn8_...

How AI is fueling surveillance capitalism and undermining democracy

YouTube video by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

youtube.com

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists@thebulletin.org · 12mo ago

The only way data and AI can be used for good is with "restrictive, well-designed controls to prevent damage to democracy, much like humans did with nuclear energy," writes @geomblog.bsky.social. "How AI and surveillance capitalism are undermining democracy." ⬇️

Our hidden gem of the week details how tech doesn’t just “augment” work; it reshapes power, squeezing workers while boosting employer control. By @aihathing.bsky.social & @cariatida.bsky.social in @datasociety.bsky.social https://buff.ly/3EcmDOs

A decade ago I was like “I can’t help workers organize if I don’t understand tech” and read lots of data and society research to teach myself about it. Then I met the good people there and they helped even more. Today, I am humbled and honored to join the board. What a life!

Data & Society@datasociety.bsky.social · last yr.

We’re delighted that @michelleimiller.bsky.social, director of innovation for the Center of Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School, has joined Data & Society’s board of directors! Welcome, Michelle! datasociety.net/announcement...

In Voxeurop, Hubert Guillaud looks at the findings of @aihathing.bsky.social & @cariatida.bsky.social's recent primer on generative AI and labor. "AI means that workers are being reduced to the sum of their data,” he writes. voxeurop.eu/en/artificia...

How AI is making it easier to exploit workers

Generative artificial intelligence will never completely replace us at work: it will exploit workers more effectively, a report by Data & Society shows.

voxeurop.eu

Apply to participate in a learning community with other academics and practitioners! We are seeking paper as well as hands-on project submissions or apply to be a collaborator.

Data & Society@datasociety.bsky.social · 2y ago

📣 New CFP! On May 8 and 9, we’re hosting an online workshop on the intersection of generative AI technologies and work. Learn more about what we’re looking for and apply by February 7. datasociety.net/announcement...

The MAGA-version of Uber has arrived: no insurance or vetting for drivers, a race-to-the-bottom for fares, no taxes paid, and $100m in fines. “Empower is trying to out-Uber Uber,” said Katie Wells, a labor expert and a co-author of the book “Disrupting D.C." www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/t...

How Empower Has Become Uber’s Rival in Washington D.C.

A company called Empower is trying to take on Uber, Lyft and local regulators as it piles up fines and draws new passengers to its service.

nytimes.com

@aihathing.bsky.social & @cariatida.bsky.social have a new @datasociety.bsky.social must-read! "The labor impact of genAI spans a vast landscape of workforces, processes & geographies, even as AI co.s [say] that genAI merely enhances efficiency & automates drudgery" datasociety.net/library/gene...

Generative AI <p>and Labor

This new primer shows that understanding how AI will affect work requires examining how work is organized, how industries are structured, and whose and what work is valued.

datasociety.net

Excited to share new primer written w/ @aihathing.bsky.social on genAI & labor: genAI doesn't exist outside of industries' economic conditions, inequalities & power dynamics, and often are extensions of banal extractive trajectories we're already well familiar with. datasociety.net/library/gene...

Generative AI <p>and Labor

This new primer shows that understanding how AI will affect work requires examining how work is organized, how industries are structured, and whose and what work is valued.

datasociety.net

We spent months digging into the booming AI influencer industry. People are brazenly stealing content from human models and adult content creators and Instagram does not give a damn www.404media.co/inside-the-b...

Inside the Booming 'AI Pimping' Industry

AI-generated influencers that steal content from human models and adult content creators have taken over Instagram.

404media.co

Awful. OpenAI (and other AI cos) are making a hard push for getting AI into K-12 schools, which they see as a burgeoning market. Most teachers I've spoken to, meanwhile, say AI is terrible. Outside of computer class, there should be no gen AI in K12 schools, period. techcrunch.com/2024/11/20/o...

OpenAI releases a teacher's guide to ChatGPT, but some educators are skeptical | TechCrunch

OpenAI has partnered with Common Sense Media to release a new resource for K-12 teachers using ChatGPT. But some educators are skeptical.

techcrunch.com

Infinite Growth Forever: global-tetrahedron.com

Outsourcing decision making to AI isn’t much better than flipping a coin or throwing dice, Judith Donath tells @kashhill.bsky.social. “At some point there was a human source for the ideas there. But it’s been turned into chum.” www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I Took a ‘Decision Holiday’ and Put A.I. in Charge of My Life

I thought it would make me put glue on pizza, but instead it entertained my children and got me to finally paint my office. How could it transform our daily lives?

nytimes.com