#publicsphere (25 results)

Zuckerberg Makes Meta Worse to Please Trump

With his decision to gut moderation and fact-checking on Meta’s platforms, Instagram, Facebook and Threads, Mark Zuckerberg shows he cares more about the approval of Donald Trump than how his platforms can harm society.

Election year 2024

10 Questions about AI and elections

2024 is an important election year. While citizens all over the world get ready to cast their ballot, many people worry about AI: Are chatbots and fake images a threat to democracy? Can we still trust what we see online? We explain why the hype around AI and elections is somewhat overblown and which real risks we need to watch out for instead.

Stance

If the UN wants to help humanity, it should not fall for AI hype

How should the international governance of AI look like? This is the thorny question the UN Secretary General’s AI Advisory Body tries to address in its first interim report. We have highlighted some concerning aspects of the report in a recent consultation process.

Project "HUMAN"

People must ensure that AI serves the people

When the police try to predict the likelihood of offenders’ criminal recidivism with algorithms, when employers use AI to pre-sort job applications, or when an AI chatbot creates media content: who is affected by this algorithmically generated decisions, recommendations, and content? How to involve those affected in order to defend their rights and interests?

Social Media

AlgorithmWatch CH ceases activities on X, formally known as Twitter

Starting today, AlgorithmWatch ceases publication on X/Twitter. The decision follows the continuous and rapid disintegration of the social network since its new owner took over a year ago.

New study: Research on Microsoft Bing Chat

AI Chatbot produces misinformation about elections

Bing Chat, the AI-driven chatbot on Microsoft’s search engine Bing, makes up false scandals about real politicians and invents polling numbers. Microsoft seems unable or unwilling to fix the problem. These findings are based on a joint investigation by AlgorithmWatch and AI Forensics, the final report of which has been published today. We tested if the chatbot would provide factual answers when prompted about the Swiss, Bavarian and Hessian elections that took place in October 2023.

Battle in Strasbourg: Civil society fights for safeguards against AI harms

With negotiations on a Convention on Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Council of Europe entering a crucial stage, a joint statement by AlgorithmWatch and ten other civil society organizations reminds negotiating states of their mandate : to protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. To adhere to this mandate and to counter both narrow state interest and companies’ lobbying, the voice of civil society must be listened to.

Atlas of Automation

To detect benefit fraud, measure work performance, predict a person's creditworthiness or show us personalised content online - algorithms and so-called "artificial intelligence" are shaping our everyday lives today. Where, by whom and for what purpose these algorithmic systems are used, however, is largely a black box. With the Atlas of Automation, AlgorithmWatch CH now sheds light on the darkness.

The EU now has the means to rein in large platforms. It should start with Twitter.

The European Commission today announced the platforms that will have to comply with the strictest rules the Digital Services Act imposes on companies. Twitter has to be on top of its list in enforcing these rules.

Reels of Fortune: Instagram-shaped memories for a bigger reach

The algorithm used to do it for us, now we do it for the algorithm: Platforms seek data on what people think good memories are. One user tells us how she constructs an end-of-year Recap Reel on Instagram.

France: the new law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games threatens human rights

France proposed a new law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (projet de loi relatif aux jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de 2024) which would legitimize the use of invasive algorithm-driven video surveillance under the pretext of “securing big events”. This new French law would create a legal basis for scanning public spaces to detect specific suspicious events.

What does TikTok know about you? Data donations deliver answers!

Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Google, and TikTok often know about the harmful effects of their algorithmic systems and yet continue to prevent independent research on them. Data donations like DataSkop are one of the few ways to investigate opaque algorithms.

Civil society responds to the Council of Europe Treaty on AI

Together with other observer civil society organizations in the Committee on AI in the Council of Europe, AlgorithmWatch Switzerland stresses the importance of that legal framework on AI based on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law that is currently being elaborated in Strasbourg. We urge the EU not to delay this process in light of the negotiations on its own AI Act currently ongoing in Brussels. The two frameworks have a different purpose and should complement rather than copy-paste each other.

Submission to the UN report on the right to privacy in the digital age

When the right to privacy is violated, it is often the case that other human rights are also negatively impacted. In our submission, we list key areas of concerns on the way automated decision-making systems (ADMs) affect people’s basic rights.

Explained

Council of Europe creates rules for Artificial Intelligence

Not only the EU but also the Council of Europe – an international organization based in Strasbourg – is setting rules on Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this explainer on its Convention on AI, we show what this is all about, why it is relevant to you and what the next steps are.

EU’s AI Act and DSA negotiations in full swing

Crucial digital policy bills are being negotiated in Brussels right now. These bills also have a relevance for Switzerland. While the European Parliament and the European Council are still busy shaping the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the Digital Services Act (DSA) is approaching the finish line. AlgorithmWatch has been intensely working on proposals regarding both regulations. We have clear demands what should flow into them so that they genuinely protect our fundamental rights as well as the public interest.

Human rights and activities of tech companies: Governments must act

Discrimination and violations of rights to equal treatment by the law – these are among the risks to human rights posed by the development and use of algorithmic systems by technology companies. In our submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) we argue that states have a duty to protect citizens from these risks.

AlgorithmWatch forced to shut down Instagram monitoring project after threats from Facebook

Digital platforms play an ever-increasing role in structuring and influencing public debate. Civil society watchdogs, researchers and journalists need to be able to hold them to account. But Facebook is increasingly fighting those who try. It shut down New York University’s Ad Observatory in August, and went after AlgorithmWatch, too.

Security tests on Swiss COVID certificate find 136 vulnerabilities, amid calls for further restrictions

The Swiss COVID certificate launched in June has undergone its first phase of internal and public security tests, and the results are in.

Swiss COVID-19 certificate system subjected to public security test and gradually implemented

Switzerland launched its own COVID-19 certificate system on June 7, both in paper and digital formats. Rollout will be gradual, and the system is expect to be fully functioning by the end of June.

Open letter calling for a global ban on biometric recognition technologies that enable mass and discriminatory surveillance

AlgorithmWatch and AlgorithmWatch Switzerland are joining 177 civil society organizations, activists, technologists, and other experts around the world to call for an outright ban on uses of facial recognition and remote biometric recognition technologies that enable mass surveillance and discriminatory targeted surveillance.

Centralized check-in apps reignite debate around digital contact tracing in Switzerland

During the pandemic, the public as well as the private sector have worked on digital tools for contact tracing. Private companies developed a variety of check-in apps for venues such as restaurants, bars, and clubs. In contrast to the SwissCovid app, those check-in apps collected data through a centralized architecture. This form of data collection in combination with insufficient checks on the private companies' use of the data raises questions regarding citizens' privacy and data security.

Reclaim Your Face – A Civil Society Initiative to ban biometric mass surveillance

A large coalition of civil society organizations, among them AlgorithmWatch and AlgorithmWatch Switzerland, have come together in a European movement that demands a ban on biometric recognition systems that enable mass surveillance. Earlier this year, it launched a European Citizens Initiative, calling on the EU to ban biometric mass surveillance - such as automated face recognition in public spaces.

Twitter apparently fixed their picture cropping

Read now: Swiss Edition of the Automating Society Report 2020