AI Workers Go To Brussels: Paving the Way for an Unprecedented Dialogue with the European Parliament

On November 21st, 2024, I’ll join forces with my colleague Milagros Miceli and MEP Leïla Chaibi (The Left) at the European Parliament for a groundbreaking dialogue with AI data workers. This historic meeting will bridge the gap between those who power AI systems and the policymakers shaping their policies and regulations.

This event is the outcome of the EnCOre project (European microworkers Communication & Outreach), an initiative I conducted with the researchers from DiPLab, DAIR, and the Weizenbaum Institut to map data work in 9 European countries.

For the first time the European institution welcomes a delegation of workers and organizers coming from Colombia, Italy, Spain, Syria, and the United States, to share their firsthand experiences and discuss pathways to improve their working conditions. Their presence transforms abstract policy discussions into concrete dialogue about the human foundation of AI development. Data workers’ stories will illuminate the complex reality behind AI systems. While headlines often focus on technological breakthroughs, these workers perform the crucial tasks that make AI development possible. Their insights will be invaluable as the European Parliament considers policies to protect and support this vital workforce.

After a first event I co-organized in collaboration with DiPLab at the European Parliament in February 2024, which was a key turning point in the subsequent adoption of the European Directive on Platform Work, this dialogue represents our team’s ongoing commitment to ensuring data workers’ perspectives shape AI policy. By bringing workers directly into conversation with European policymakers, DiPLab continues its work of bridging the gap between AI’s human workforce and the institutions that govern it.

(Un)Artificial Intelligence: Workers Behind the Machine

November 21st, 2024
2:30 – 5:30 PM CET
European Parliament, Brussels
Room Spinelli 1G2

Register now to attend in person or join us via the live YouTube stream.

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in French, English, Italian, Spanish, and German.

Download the EnCOre report
Milagros Miceli, Paola Tubaro, Antonio A. Casilli, Thomas Le Bonniec, Camilla Salim Wagner, Laurenz Sachenbacher. Who Trains the Data for European Artificial Intelligence?. European Parliament; DiPLab, Weizenbaum Institut, DAIR, The Left. 2024. ⟨hal-04662589⟩