Who is Really Fueling your AI? Precarization and Resistance in Data Work.

Join us for an evening with the hidden workforce behind AI, get insights into how workers organize against its harsh realities and learn more about our research project The Data Workers’ Inquiry.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and the promise of unprecedented efficiency, economic growth and the transformation of the global economy are plastered on headlines everywhere. However, behind the glossy veneer of AI-powered applications and services lies a hidden workforce of data workers who form the backbone of this technological revolution. Against a backdrop of precarity and exploitation, data workers are organizing to fight for visibility, respect and better conditions. The Data Workers’ Inquiry is a participative research project investigating and supporting resistance in the AI industry, where workers investigate their own workplaces.

The Data Workers Inquiry, SUPERRR and the Weizenbaum Institute cordially invite to an evening where the real people powering AI speak out about its harsh realities, how we can organize resistance and create better alternatives. Data Workers’ Inquiry principal investigator, Dr. Milagros Miceli, will give a keynote on the project’s approach, key findings, and methodology. Followed by a panel with data workers, who will present their research, reflections, and ongoing organizing initiatives, and closing with open exchange with the audience.

Please register here

Time & Place

Wednesday, September 17th, 2025. 17:00-19:30
Weizenbaum-Institut, Hardenbergstr. 32, 10623

The event will be streamed. The link will be posted here shortly.

Program

17:00-18:00: “AI is a Lot of (Data) Work: On Hidden Labor, Resistance, and Academic Solidarity.” Keynote by Dr. Milagros Miceli + Q&A

18:00-19:30: “The Workers Who Make AI Possible.” Panel featuring four data workers.

Please register here

This event is part of Data Workers Unite! A Transnational Assembly. A two-day summit that will bring together data workers from around the world to share experiences, network, and make their voices heard by policymakers, academics, and the public. Organized by Data Workers’ Inquiry and SUPERRR, and hosted by Weizenbaum Institute, the summit centers the perspectives of data workers who are often excluded from policy debates despite facing precarious conditions. Find out more