🔇🔇🔇 On Friday April 17th (9am PDT/5pm CET/7pm EAT), we'll have a virtual event introducing our Refugees, Migrants and AI research program which centers the lived experiences of refugees and migrants and puts power back into their hands🧵 ☘️☘️☘️ Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/refugees-a...

Refugees and AI

Centering the lived experiences of refugees and their power building work in fighting against surveillance technologies.

eventbrite.com

"Too often, conversations about AI and surveillance are framed in abstract terms, as though these systems simply appear out of nowhere. But refugees and migrants are often among the first to experience their violence" @adiod.bsky.social @dairinstitute.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/timn...

Timnit Gebru@timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 4mo ago

I'm incredibly excited about this event because you'll hear from truly extraordinary people, from translators working from their destroyed houses in Gaza to support refugees in other countries, to people who learned new languages while being detained by ICE and supported their fellow refugees.

Check out the newest inquiry from the Data Workers' Inquiry and find more at data-workers.org 👇

Data Workers’ Inquiry@dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🚨NEW INQUIRY! - Behind the Face of AI🚨 In this short comic, two data workers describe their work impersonating an “AI” chatbot for a major social media platform. Sleepless nights, penalties for sounding “too human,” and emotional drain are just a few of the job hazards. ➡️ data-workers.org/france

📣New paper! Thrilled to share the methodological recipe for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social in this article co-authored with @adiod.bsky.social @krystalkauffman.bsky.social Camilla Salim Wagner, Laurenz Sachenbacher @alexhanna.bsky.social & @timnitgebru.bsky.social 👉 ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AI...

A must read! Great investigation into the strategy of mass recruitment used by AI data work firms. (And featuring lots of great folks like @joan1k.bsky.social @ephantuskanyugi.bsky.social @datalabelers.bsky.social @casilli.bsky.social @adiod.bsky.social)

Marché Arends@marche.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Today, the investigation my reporting partner Kathryn Cleary and I have been working on for over a year is finally out in Africa Uncensored! africauncensored.online/blog/2025/08...

Indeed, @adiod.bsky.social writes: “The choice facing Africa is...continue as a data colony providing cheap labour for surveillance tools that serve foreign interests, or assert digital sovereignty by developing governance frameworks that prioritise African lives” africainfact.com/ai-surveilla...

AI surveillance and data colonialism shape African conflicts  - Africa in Fact

On 3 November 2021, Professor Meareg Amare, a respected chemistry academic at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, was gunned down outside his home by men wearing special forces uniforms....

africainfact.com

Excited to be introducing this latest Inquiry...head to the data workers inquiry website and check out this new inquiry by @joan1k.bsky.social of the @datalabelers.bsky.social

Milagros Miceli@milamiceli.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨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/

New Inquiry!!

Milagros Miceli@milamiceli.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨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/

Caught up this week with @krystalkauffman.bsky.social and @adiod.bsky.social to plot what’s next for @dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social: new inquiries, new events, and some big ideas in the works. More soon!

Today, @milamiceli.bsky.social, @krystalkauffman.bsky.social and @adiod.bsky.social from the DWI team are in Barcelona to meet with some of these data workers. 📍Today at 5 PM. The event is open and anyone can attend! 👉 Learn more here: www.ibei.org/es/mesa-redo...

Alert! We have a powerful mental health intervention designed by data workers, for data workers. Drawing on her experience as a former content moderator and trained psychologist, our brilliant co-researcher Kauna Malgwi created a much-needed support system rooted in lived experience. Take a look 👇🏾

Data Workers’ Inquiry@dataworkersinquiry.bsky.social · last yr.

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.

@adiod.bsky.social presenting at the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) Flashpoint Symposium in Bremen. June 4th, 2025

🚨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

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...

data-workers.org

New podcast! @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want, just out from HarperCollins. Business Insider calls it a “funny and irreverent deconstruction of AI.”

Taking on the AI Con | TechPolicy.Press

Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want, just out from Harper Collins.

techpolicy.press

Madison! Tonight, @emilymbender.bsky.social and I will be at @roomofonesownbooks.bsky.social, in conversation with the great @millbot.bsky.social about our book! Come through! roomofonesown.com/event/2025-0...

The AI Con by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna in Conversation with Emily Mills

roomofonesown.com

The new episode of the "Machines That Fail Us" podcast is out now! Glad to host @adiod.bsky.social from @dairinstitute.bsky.social for a chat on the hidden human work behind AI training. Listen here on the @unisg.ch website or on your preferred audio platform ⤵️ www.unisg.ch/en/newsroom/...

Machines That Fail Us #7 | The hidden human labor behind AI systems

In this episode, Philip di Salvo and Adio Dinika (DAIR) discuss the invisible labor behind AI systems and the various inequalities within the AI industry.

unisg.ch

The new episode of the "Machines That Fail Us" podcast is out now! Glad to host @adiod.bsky.social for a chat on the hidden human work (and nature) behind artificial intelligence. Listen here on the @unisg.ch website or on your preferred audio and podcasting platform ⤵️

University of St.Gallen@unisg.ch · last yr.

In the new episode of our podcast "Machines That Fail Us", host @philipdisalvo.bsky.social discusses with @adiod.bsky.social the invisible labor behind #AI systems and the various inequalities within the AI industry. #GenerativeAI 🎧Find out more and listen to new episode: unisg.link/mio

In the new episode of our podcast "Machines That Fail Us", host @philipdisalvo.bsky.social discusses with @adiod.bsky.social the invisible labor behind #AI systems and the various inequalities within the AI industry. #GenerativeAI 🎧Find out more and listen to new episode: unisg.link/mio

Machines That Fail Us #7 | The hidden human labor behind AI systems

In this episode, Philip di Salvo and Adio Dinika (DAIR) discuss the invisible labor behind AI systems and the various inequalities within the AI industry.

unisg.link

Join us now on Twitch

Milagros Miceli@milamiceli.bsky.social · last yr.

💫Tomorrow is the launch event of the Data Labelers Association, and everyone is invited to watch it live on Twitch: twitch.tv/dair_institu... I’ll be moderating a panel with association members and couldn’t be more excited to support this incredible group!

Acaba de ir ao ar o volume 3 do Carbono. Orgulhosamente apresentamos uma entrevista com o escritor colombiano Barragán Castro, artigos de Liliana Doganova, @lclaberge.bsky.social e @adiod.bsky.social e uma resenha crítica de Helena Lukianski. Acessem e divulguem: www.ufrgs.br/carbono

⬆️ Speakers include Michael Connor of Open MIC, Nadira Narine of @iccr.bsky.social, Brandon Rees of @aflcio.org, @adiod.bsky.social of @dairinstitute.bsky.social & Rosa Curling of Foxglove. Register here for Zoom: loom.ly/IaYBTBU

If you buy into the warped "DEI" narrative that portrays Black people as incompetent, while also defending Elmo’s fascist drivel, know this—I detest you deeply. You are a profoundly foolish blob of flesh masquerading as a person.

This event is kindly supported by @ainowinstitute.bsky.social @dairinstitute.bsky.social @turkopticon.bsky.social and the Data Workers' Inquiry team: @krystalkauffman.bsky.social, @adiod.bsky.social, @timnitgebru.bsky.social, @alexhanna.bsky.social

Digital labor platforms in Africa offer both opportunities & challenges, with marginalized workers facing dispossession despite tech advancements. @adiod.bsky.social calls for policy reforms to protect worker autonomy & ensure equitable participation in economic shifts ➡️ doi.org/10.34669/wi....

One of the most despair-inducing moments is talking to "non-scholars/activists" about AI. Their delight and amazement make me feel like Cassandra, warning of the labor exploitation and copyright theft propping up this shiny facade, only to be met with blank stares and or indifference

After reading this article. leedsinternationalfestival.com/puny-gods-an... , my brother said, "You really hate AI." And I said, no, I dont hate AI, I hate the exploitation embedded in AI. Despite writing and researching on it for 3 years now, each conversation with a data workers leaves me scarred

Puny Gods and Silicon Saviors: Challenging the AI Salvation Narrative | LIFI - Leeds International Festival of Ideas

Leeds International Festival of Ideas.

leedsinternationalfestival.com

"A pesar de que trabajamos para estas grandes empresas, somos la mano de obra barata y descartable para ellos": Oskarina Fuentes frente al Parlamento Europeo junto a @milamiceli.bsky.social hablando sobre la extrema precariedad de los trabajadores de datos de la industria de la IA 📢 #dataworkers

Arte es Ética@arteesetica.bsky.social · 2y ago

"A pesar del papel fundamental que desempeñan en el desarrollo de la IA, los trabajadores de datos a menudo son invisibles y se pasa por alto su bienestar. Esto no es accidental, sino intencionado" - @milamiceli.bsky.social @weizenbauminstitut.bsky.social #dataworkersinquiry #dataworkers #genAI

AI is neither Artificial nor Intelligent. Behind the sleek algorithms are real human workers—tagging, labeling, moderating—often underpaid and exploited. The intelligence? It’s extracted labor. The artificial? Just a narrative to obscure the human cost.

I made this thread on that other app, and thought I'd share it here as well, though my feeling is folk here are not as impervious to reading and critical thinking. I got annoyed at some well.meaning people (at least so I thought) saying "woke mind virus" and thought I'd talk about being woke

One of the most frustrating things about academia is in addition to the low salaries, being expected to front your own money for travel, and then being treated with suspicion when you request reimbursement—like you're pulling some elaborate heist.