The People vs AI

Exploring the path towards effective and socially just innovation in the public sector through data-driven technologies.

Workforce deficits and increasing bureaucratic burdens are putting more and more pressure on the operational capacity of the public sector. In response to this issue, municipalities are experimenting with data-driven technologies in the public realm such as litter detecting camera’s on garbage trucks or smart sensor equipped cars that detect and fine illegally parked vehicles. But also in the social security domain the municipality has been making use of AI. For example through the DIAfragma tool that creates a comprehensive customer profile of low-income households. The idea is that these initiatives should be effective in terms of improving efficiency and quality of service but nevertheless these initiatives raise concerns related to public values as privacy, non-discrimination and transparency. We have seen serious and very alarming consequences bringing harm to various communities when the use of these technologies goes wrong. Therefore, in order to legitimately design and make use of these technologies, it is of the most importance to deploy adequate and timely representation of civil society and marginalised groups.

In conversation with Kristina S. Weißmüller Dr. Kristina S. Weißmüller is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) Douwe Schmidt Project Manager Public Tech at the Municipality of Amsterdam Berhan Taye PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam & Researcher at the intersections of technology, society, and social justice Tiwánee van der Horst Design researcher at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences & Artist

In conversation with

Douwe Schmidt is the Senior Project Manager in Public Tech, AI and ethics at the Municipality of Amsterdam. He previously worked as a board member at Bureau Tada, and as a privacy officer at Fairphone and Security Trainer at Greenhost. In addition, he also also worked with the Waag Futurelab and is the founder of the Privacy Cafe for Bits of Freedom.

Berhan Taye is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam & an independent researcher, analyst, and facilitator examining the intersections of technology, society, and social justice.

Dr. Kristina S. Weißmüller is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Her research focuses on public management and the governance of integrity, including administrative corruption, leadership, motivation, and success factors of cross-sectoral collaboration and the digital transformation. As an expert in AI governance and behavioral public administration research, her work is published in leading academic journals, and she regularly advises public, non-profit, and international organizations (e.g., UNODC, WTO) on issues of anti-corruption, legitimacy, and human resource management. Tiwánee van der Horst is a researcher at the lectorates Cybersocial Design and Artificial Intelligence & Society at Knowledge Centre Creating 010 of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. With a background in architecture and sculpture, she brings a different perspective to the AI-​​debate, focusing on exposing power dynamics behind technology by making them tangible – ‘models of systems’. For her research, she developed a physical interactive tool, called ‘Who Pulls The Strings of AI’, which can be used in conversations. In her work, she advocates for a more democratic distribution of power in AI-development. She also includes the ecological perspective, for her research ‘Infinite AI, Finite Earth’ she is currently experimenting with living materials such as algae to make the environmental impact of technological design choices palpable.

More info about the programme

The People vs AI is a series of co-creation seminars about human rights and technology created by CONNECTME@ Human rights and Technology. With the mission to advance representation and accountability in the development of data driven technologies, this concept successfully kicked-off in May 2024 with the aim to engage civil society and communities in the debate on data driven technologies. In this programme, we will engage the public in setting the conditions, laying in the fundamentals and choosing the topic for a future co-creation session with the municipality of Amsterdam on this issue. All participants are invited for the follow up of this initiative, the second edition of The People vs AI that will strive to co-design a blueprint for engaging correct, meaningful representation that can be used by governmental bodies to mitigate harmful data driven impact.