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Company Regrets Replacing All Those Pesky Human Workers With AI, Just Wants Its Humans Back
by Daniela Tafani May 14, 2025

May 14, 2025

Company Regrets Replacing All Those Pesky Human Workers With AI, Just Wants Its Humans Back "What you end up having is lower quality." May 13, Joe Wilkins Two years after partnering with OpenAI to automate marketing and customer service jobs, financial tech startup Klarna says it's longing for human connection again. Once gunning to be OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's "favorite guinea pig," Klarna is now plotting a big recruitment drive after its AI customer service agents couldn't quite hack it. The buy-now-pay-later company had previously shredded its marketing contracts in 2023, followed by its customer service team in 2024, which it proudly began replacing with AI agents. Now, the company says it imagines an "Uber-type of setup" to fill their ranks, with gig workers logging in remotely to argue with customers from the comfort of their own homes. "From a brand perspective, a company perspective, I just think it’s so critical that you are clear to your customer that there will be always a human if you want," admitted Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the Swedish fintech's CEO. That's a pretty big shift from his comments in December of 2024, when he told Bloomberg he was "of the opinion that AI can already do all of the jobs that we, as humans, do." A year before that, Klarna had stopped hiring humans altogether, reducing its workforce by 22 percent. A few months after freezing new hires, Klarna bragged that it saved $10 million on marketing costs by outsourcing tasks like translation, art production, and data analysis to generative AI. It likewise claimed that its automated customer service agents could do the work of "700 full-time agents." So why the sudden about-face? As it turns out, leaving your already-frustrated customers to deal with a slop-spinning algorithm isn't exactly best practice. As Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg, "cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when organizing this, what you end up having is lower quality." Klarna isn't alone. Though executives in every industry, from news media to fast food, seem to think AI is ready for the hot seat — an attitude that's more grounded in investor relations than an honest assessment of the tech — there are growing signs that robot chickens are coming home to roost. In January of last year, a survey of over 1,400 business executives found that 66 percent were "ambivalent or outright dissatisfied with their organization’s progress on AI and GenAI so far." The top issue corporate bosses cited was AI's "lack of talent and skills." It's a problem that evidently hasn't improved over the year. Another survey recently found that over 55 percent of UK business leaders who rushed to replace jobs with AI now regret their decision. It's not hard to see why. An experiment carried out by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University stuffed a fake software company full of AI employees, and their performance was laughably bad — the best AI worker finished just 24 percent of the tasks assigned to it. When it comes to the question of whether AI will take jobs, there seem to be as many answers as there are CEOs excited to save a buck. There are gray areas, to be sure — AI is certainly helping corporations speed up low-wage outsourcing, and the tech is having a verifiable effect on labor market volatility — just don't count on CEOs to have much patience as AI starts to chomp at their bottom line. <https://futurism.com/klarna-openai-humans-ai-back>

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NOYB sends Meta a cease and desist letter over Ai optimization
by Stefano Borroni Barale May 14, 2025

May 14, 2025

https://noyb.eu/en/noyb-sends-meta-cease-and-desist-letter-over-ai-training… TL;DR: DPAs do not seem to approve. The national Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) should – theoretically – take enforcement action against non-complaince with the GDPR. However, in a climate where the EU is pushing hard for less regulation and more "innovation" at any costs, we now observe that DPAs in some EU countries just largely function as a messenger for Meta: Many DPAs have just "informed" people that they should urgently opt-out of Meta’s AI training. This is putting the responsibility on the users instead of Meta. Meta also publicly claims to have "engaged" with EU regulators on using social media data for AI training. However, as far as noyb is informed, DPAs largely stayed silent on the legality of AI training without consent. It therefore seems that Meta simply moved ahead anyways – taking another huge legal risk in the EU and trampling over users’ rights. Max Schrems: "As far as we have heard, Meta has 'engaged' with the authorities, but this hasn't led to any 'green light'. It seems that Meta is simply moving ahead and ignores EU Data Protection Authorities. The Authorities in turn seem to just stay silent, telling users to protect themselves. We are witnessing how data protection authorities loose more and more relevance and NGOs have to take action before the courts." Inviato da Proton Mail Android

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Job opportunity: post-doctoral researcher on "AI and society (governance, geopolitics, social issues)" at Centre Internet et Société of CNRS
by Francesca Musiani May 14, 2025

May 14, 2025

Care colleghe e cari colleghi, Mi permetto il resto del messaggio in inglese per maggior circolabilità :) The Centre Internet et Société of CNRS is launching a call for applications for a 2-year post-doctoral contract on the theme "AI and society (governance, geopolitics, social issues)", supported by CNRS Humanities and Social Sciences. The job offer in French and English is here: https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UPR2000-FRAMUS-004/Default.aspx?lang=FR https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UPR2000-FRAMUS-004/Default.aspx?lang=EN The deadline for applications is June 4, for an envisaged start of the position on September 1. Do not hesitate to apply if you are interested, and/or to disseminate the offer to your doctoral students and colleagues! All best Francesca -- Francesca Musiani, Ph.D. Directrice de recherche | Research Professor, CNRS <http://www.cnrs.fr> Directrice | Director, Centre Internet et Société <https://cis.cnrs.fr/> (UPR 2000 CNRS) Directrice adjointe | Deputy Director, GDR Internet, IA et Société <https://cis.cnrs.fr/presentation-gdr/> (GDR 2091 CNRS) I'm also associated with: i3-CSI <http://www.csi.ensmp.fr/>, MINES ParisTech | Internet Governance Lab <https://internetgovernancelab.org>, American University I co-lead projects: DIGISOV <https://digisov.org> | TIGre <https://netgouv.hypotheses.org/projet-technologie-internet-et-gouvernance-t…> I help co-editing: Internet Policy Review <https://policyreview.info> | RESET <https://journals.openedition.org/reset/> I'm an advisor for: ISOC France <https://www.isoc.fr> | ANSSI <https://www.ssi.gouv.fr/agence/rayonnement-scientifique/conseil-scientifiqu…> | IAMCR <https://iamcr.org/governance/int-council> I'm here on the Web (FR <https://cis.cnrs.fr/francesca-musiani/> | EN <https://cis.cnrs.fr/en/francesca_musiani/>), including my publications.

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Re: [nexa] AI therapy is a surveillance machine in a police state
by Federico Guerrini May 14, 2025

May 14, 2025

I chatbot usati a scopo di counseling e terapia psicologica come un altro mattoncino di un possibile surveillance State? "The past few months have seen a sharp escalation in the risks and scope of this. The Trump administration’s surveillance crusade is vast and almost unbelievably petty. It’s aimed at a much broader range of targets than even the typical US national security and policing apparatus. And it has seemingly little interest in keeping that surveillance secret or even low-profile. Chatbots, likewise, escalate the risks of typical online secret-sharing. Their conversational design can draw out private information in a format that can be more vivid and revealing — and, if exposed, embarrassing — than even something like a Google search. There’s no simple equivalent to a private iMessage or WhatsApp chat with a friend, which can be encrypted to make snooping harder. (Chatbot logs can use encryption, but especially on major platforms, this typically doesn’t hide what you’re doing from the company itself.) They’re built, for safety purposes, to sense when a user is discussing sensitive topics like suicide and sex." "During the Bush and Obama administrations, the NSA demanded unfettered access to American telephone providers’ call records. The Trump administration is singularly fascinated by AI, and it’s easy to imagine one of its agencies demanding a system for easily grabbing chat logs without a warrant or having certain topics of discussion flagged. They could get access by invoking the government’s broad national security powers or by simply threatening the CEO. For users whose chats veer toward the wrong topics, this surveillance could lead to any number of things: a visit from child protective services or immigration agents, a lengthy investigation into their company’s “illegal DEI” rules or their nonprofit’s tax-exempt status, or embarrassing conversations leaked to a right-wing activist for public shaming." "Like the NSA’s anti-terrorism programs, the data-sharing could be framed in wholesome, prosocial ways. A 14-year-old wonders if they might be transgender, or a woman seeks support for an abortion? Of course OpenAI would help flag that — they’re just protecting children. A foreign student who’s emotionally overwhelmed by the war in Gaza — what kind of monster would shield a supporter of Hamas? An Instagram user asking for advice about their autism — doesn’t Meta want to help find a cure? There are special risks for people who already have a target on their backs — not just those who have sought the political spotlight, but medical professionals who work with reproductive health and gender-affirming care, employees of universities, or anyone who could be associated with something “woke.” The government is already scouring publicly available information for ways to discredit enemies, and a therapy chatbot with minimal privacy protections would be an almost irresistible target." https://www.theverge.com/policy/665685/ai-therapy-meta-chatbot-surveillance… Buona lettura, Federico http://www.forbes.com/sites/federicoguerrini/ https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/newsroom-curators-a… My latest book: Content Curation (Italian): http://www.amazon.it/Content-Curation-Federico-Guerrini/dp/8820366126

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MEMENTO | 183° Mercoledì di Nexa | 14 maggio 2025, ore 17.00
by Nexa - Media May 12, 2025

May 12, 2025

Gentilissime, gentilissimi, Vi ricordiamo che mercoledì 14 maggio, alle ore 17.00, si terrà il 183° Mercoledì di Nexa con un incontro dal titolo "I segni di Proteo". Ospite dell'incontro: Massimo Leone (Università degli Studi di Torino). L'incontro si terrà IN PRESENZA e ONLINE, l'ospite si collegherà da remoto. SEDE FISICA dell'incontro: Centro Nexa su Internet e Società, Politecnico di Torino, Via Boggio 65/a, Torino (1° piano). Per accedere alla sala si raccomanda di suonare al citofono Portineria e di seguire le indicazioni segnalate lungo il percorso. QUI<https://nexa.polito.it/contatti> maggiori informazioni su come raggiungerci. STANZA VIRTUALE dell'incontro: https://didattica.polito.it/VClass/NexaEvent Maggiori informazioni alla pagina: https://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-183 Un saluto cordiale, -- Valeria Bergantino Communication Manager Nexa Center for Internet & Society Politecnico di Torino - DAUIN Via Pier Carlo Boggio, 65/A - 10138 Torino web: https://nexa.polito.it/ mail: valeria.bergantino(a)polito.it<mailto:valeria.bergantino@polito.it> tel: 3473443585

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[CfP] IEEE IoT2C 2025 – The 11th International Symposium on IoT and Cloud Continuum – Submissions Now Open
by Antonio Montieri May 12, 2025

May 12, 2025

[Our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this message] -----------------Call for Papers-------------------------------- The 11th International Symposium on IoT and Cloud Continuum (IoT2C) Istanbul, Turkiye, 11-13 Aug 2025 [Hybrid] http://www.ficloud.org/iot2c2025 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Papers: Cloud continuum enables a seamless integration of distinct cloud services and models in order to encapsulate the growing adoption of cloud computing by businesses and organizations. The services and capabilities of cloud continuum are unified and supported by advances in communication networks (e.g., 5G network). They offer edge services for IoT devices such as smart sensors that generate large volume of data and that require connectivity with low latency. The objectives are to simplify the integration and development of modern cloud-enabled IoT applications; e.g., share resources, support extreme workload, efficiently process big data and place data and compute power closer to places where they are needed more. The symposium aims to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners in order to discuss ideas and share knowledge on various issues related to IoT and cloud continuum. Topics of the symposium include (but not limited to): - IoT and cloud continuum models - Integration and collaboration - Network models and design - Software systems and microservices - Big data processing and management - AI and machine learning applications - Network communication protocols - 5G and SDN services - Fault tolerance and reliability - Performance evaluation and modelling - Edge, Fog and IoT continuum - SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS models - Ecosystem: IoT, Edge,Fog, Cloud - QoS in IoT and cloud continuum - Security, trust and privacy - Service selection and provisioning - Continuum benchmarking - Modelling and simulation - Business models and standards - Service level agreements - Applications and case studies - Legal and ethical aspects Important Dates: *Submission Deadline: 31 May 2025Authors Notification: 10 June 2025Final Manuscript Due: 20 June 2025* Submission Guidelines: Authors are requested to submit papers reporting original research results and experience. The page limit is 6-8 pages. Papers should be prepared using IEEE two-column template. Papers should be submitted as PDF files via the EasyChair submission system. Submitted research papers may not overlap with papers that have already been published or that are simultaneously submitted to a journal or a conference with proceedings. All papers accepted for this symposium are peer-reviewed and are to be published in the conference proceedings by the IEEE Computer Society Conference Publishing Service (CPS). Best regards, -- *Antonio Montieri, Ph.D.* *Assistant Professor (RTDa)* *Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica e delle Tecnologie dell'Informazione (DIETI)University of Napoli Federico IIVia Claudio 21 -- 80125 Napoli (Italy)Phone: +39 081 76 83821 - Fax: +39 081 76 83816Email: antonio.montieri(a)unina.it <antonio.montieri(a)unina.it> <antonio.montieri(a)unina.it>WWW: http://wpage.unina.it/antonio.montieri <http://wpage.unina.it/antonio.montieri> <http://wpage.unina.it/antonio.montieri>* *Skype ID: antmontieri*

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[Responsible AI] When Abstraction Fails: Navigating Uncertainty in High-Stakes Systems
by Daniele Quercia May 12, 2025

May 12, 2025

Title: When Abstraction Fails: Navigating Uncertainty in High-Stakes Systems Join the meeting<https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YzczNmM0YWUtNWU4ZC00…> Abstract: With high-stakes systems, safety and security engineering depends heavily on abstractions — models, simulations, bench tests — that stand in for the system itself. But these abstractions have limits. They inevitably rely on imperfect assumptions: simplifications that hold until they don’t, especially under conditions of novelty, extremity, or scale. In systems that push the boundaries of performance, therefore, abstraction becomes brittle, and the pretense of total foresight becomes a liability. This talk examines what happens when engineers reach the limits of their abstractions. Focusing on testing and modeling under conditions of extremity, I explore how ‘rational’ accidents can arise from the limits of what can be known, tested, or anticipated in advance. From there I examine how one domain — civil aviation — manages these accidents by leveraging decades of accumulated operational experience. The talk is an invitation to reconsider what counts as credible knowledge in high-consequence engineering, and to value operational experience not as a fallback when models fail, but as a foundation for safety and security when they inevitably do. <https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.02191>Bio: John Downer is Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Bristol. He has written extensively about the idiosyncrasies of technoscientific knowledge, the limits of proof, and their implications for technology governance. His 2024 monograph ‘Rational Accidents: Reckoning with Catastrophic Technologies,’ examines the logical dilemmas of establishing ‘ultra-high’ reliabilities in highly complex systems such as jetliners and reactors, and unpacks the practical ramifications of those dilemmas. His broader work looks at epistemological and regulatory issues in a range of technological domains, from civil aviation and nuclear, to autonomous systems and artificial intelligence. He has a PhD in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Cornell University, and prior to joining Bristol he held positions at Kings College London, the London School of Economics (LSE), and Stanford University. He is currently a visiting researcher at the Centre for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (GovAI) in Oxford.

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[Responsible AI] When Abstraction Fails: Navigating Uncertainty in High-Stakes Systems
by Daniele Quercia May 12, 2025

May 12, 2025

Title: When Abstraction Fails: Navigating Uncertainty in High-Stakes Systems Join the meeting<https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YzczNmM0YWUtNWU4ZC00…> Abstract: With high-stakes systems, safety and security engineering depends heavily on abstractions — models, simulations, bench tests — that stand in for the system itself. But these abstractions have limits. They inevitably rely on imperfect assumptions: simplifications that hold until they don’t, especially under conditions of novelty, extremity, or scale. In systems that push the boundaries of performance, therefore, abstraction becomes brittle, and the pretense of total foresight becomes a liability. This talk examines what happens when engineers reach the limits of their abstractions. Focusing on testing and modeling under conditions of extremity, I explore how ‘rational’ accidents can arise from the limits of what can be known, tested, or anticipated in advance. From there I examine how one domain — civil aviation — manages these accidents by leveraging decades of accumulated operational experience. The talk is an invitation to reconsider what counts as credible knowledge in high-consequence engineering, and to value operational experience not as a fallback when models fail, but as a foundation for safety and security when they inevitably do. <https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.02191>Bio: John Downer is Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Bristol. He has written extensively about the idiosyncrasies of technoscientific knowledge, the limits of proof, and their implications for technology governance. His 2024 monograph ‘Rational Accidents: Reckoning with Catastrophic Technologies,’ examines the logical dilemmas of establishing ‘ultra-high’ reliabilities in highly complex systems such as jetliners and reactors, and unpacks the practical ramifications of those dilemmas. His broader work looks at epistemological and regulatory issues in a range of technological domains, from civil aviation and nuclear, to autonomous systems and artificial intelligence. He has a PhD in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Cornell University, and prior to joining Bristol he held positions at Kings College London, the London School of Economics (LSE), and Stanford University. He is currently a visiting researcher at the Centre for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (GovAI) in Oxford.

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I 23 “no” per riprendersi Internet
by Andrea Trentini May 8, 2025

May 8, 2025

Ho appena ascoltato questo podcast di Attivissimo: https://attivissimo.me/2025/05/07/podcast-rsi-perche-devo-dare-una-password… (a questo link anche il testo trascritto, per chi non ama gli audio) è carino, non sapevo della lista dei 23 "no", invero se ne potrebbero aggiungere un bel po' :) -- Andrea Trentini ⠠⠵ - http://atrent.it - public key ID: 0xA7A91E3B - Dip.to di Informatica - Università degli Studi di Milano Cittadinanza Digitale e Tecnocivismo - https://www.ledizioni.it/prodotto/cittadinanza-digitale-tecnocivismo - https://edizionithemis.it/catalogo/digitale-e-societa/dal-tecnocivismo-alla… Sistemi Embedded - https://www.ledizioni.it/prodotto/a-carraturo-a-trentini-sistemi-embedded-t…

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Dopamina: Quando un'app diventa droga
by Giacomo Tesio May 8, 2025

May 8, 2025

Ciao a tutti, volevo segnalarvi questa breve serie di corti divulgativi sui social (credo a produzione francese): https://www.arte.tv/it/videos/RC-017841/dopamina/ Ne ho visti un paio e li ho trovati chiari e divertenti (sebbene, come spesso accade, superficiali dal punto di vista tecnico [1]) Non mi pare fossero già passati in lista, ma credo che possano aiutare molti a comprendere un po' meglio le caratteristiche progettuali di questi software e le intenzioni di chi li realizza e distribuisce. Giacomo [1] ad esempio, quando vengono elencati i dati condivisi dalle varie app, l'elenco non tiene conto delle correlazioni fra coordinate satellitari (e dunque luoghi), orari etc.. di tutte le altre persone ivi presenti nello stesso posto etc...

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