In the Belly of AI: A Documentary on the Real Price of Automation

Dear all,

I am excited to share with you the trailer of our upcoming documentary In the Belly of AI, which examines the human and environmental costs of artificial intelligence through the stories and experiences of the people who shape the technologies that affect our daily lives.

The documentary is directed by Henri Poulain, and co-written by Julien Goetz and yours truly. Officially scheduled for release in 2025, it is produced by France Télévisions and set to be distributed in the UK by the BBC. It has been shortlisted for the Sundance Film Festival.

We will preview the documentary on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, as part of a workshop co-organized with the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy.

The workshop will feature speakers Ana Valdivia (Oxford Internet Institute) and Adio Dinika (Distributed AI Research Institute), along with discussants Debangana Bose (Dept. of Geography, Cambridge) and Alex Wood (Dept. of Sociology, Cambridge). Following the workshop, there will be an open conversation with author James Muldoon (University of Essex) about his new book, Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI, co-authored with Mark Graham and Callum Cant.

Workshop: In the Belly of AI

Date: Tuesday, 12 Nov 2024 | Time: 14:30 – 17:00 | Location: Sixties Room, Churchill College, Storey’s Way, Cambridge CB3 0DS

Programme:

14:30 – 14:40 – Welcome: Professor Gina Neff, Executive Director of Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy

14:40 – 15:00 – Presentation: Professor Antonio A. Casilli, Professor of Sociology, Institut Polytechnique de Paris and By-Fellow Churchill College, University of Cambridge

15:00 – 15:05 – Excerpt 1: In the Belly of AI

15:05 – 16:00 – Roundtable: ‘Data Workers’ Inquiry: Community-led Research into AI Labour Practices’ | Led by: Dr Adio-Adet Dinika (Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR)) | Discussant: Dr Alex Wood (Sociology, University of Cambridge)

16:00 – 16:05 – Excerpt 2: In the Belly of AI

16:05 – 17:00 – Roundtable: ‘AI Supply Chain Capitalism: Rethinking Algorithmic Harms Through an Environmental Lens’ | Led by: Dr Ana Valdivia (Oxford Internet Institute and UCL Centre for Capitalism Studies) | Discussant: Dr Debangana Bose (Geography, University of Cambridge)

Open Conversation: In the Belly of AI / Feeding the Machine

Date: Tuesday, 12 Nov 2024 | Time: 17:30 – 18:30 BST | Location: Sixties Room, Churchill College, Storey’s Way, Cambridge CB3 0DS

Programme:

17:30 – Welcome

17:35 – Viewing: Excerpt from In the Belly of AI

17:40-18:30 – In conversation: Professor Antonio Casilli and Dr. James Muldoon on In the Belly of AI and Feeding the Machine

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Antonio A. Casilli
Professor, Telecom Paris | Institut Polytechnique de Paris
By-Fellow, Churchill College | University of Cambridge
My upcoming book: Waiting for Robots. The Hired Hands of Automation (University of Chicago Press, 2025)