Mayday! Mayday!

Dear Citizens,

No really, it’s May Day! We’re keeping an eye on protests around the world, and on growing momentum to pressure Big Tech to act right. Here’s what else to know, watch and do this week.

🌍 ONE READ: Putting the AI in Aid 🌍

We focus a lot here on the risks of AI. But in an era of increasing scarcity for humanitarian aid, could AI be… good? In this Rest of World piece, the IRC’s Andre Heller says yes:

As rising conflict and forced displacement drive unprecedented humanitarian needs, adoption of artificial intelligence in humanitarian work has the potential to scale services for some of the most vulnerable populations in the world. What we’re learning …is that AI isn’t a future solution for humanitarian needs — it’s already here. The question is whether it can deliver trusted, accurate, locally relevant information in fragile contexts, and do so safely.

👉 Read the whole piece here for a look at some hotspots around the world where AI is having an impact.

📚 Bonus read: A Peter Thiel-backed startup has launched an “AI jury” to discredit journalism, starting at a cool $2,000, with ambitions to build a “global AI arbitration court”. What could possibly go wrong?

👉 Read more here.

For years, a handful of Big Tech companies have embedded themselves in the UK’s public services with no signs of slowing down.

Join the pushback. Get 20% off a Citizens subscription this May.

🤔 ONE WATCH: Unpredictable 🤔

What do the story of Oedipus and your insurance premiums have in common? They are both driven by self-fulfilling prophecies - the power of prediction.

In this very cool TED Talk, recommended in our Signal chat, Philosopher and TED Fellow Carissa Véliz traces the hidden power of prediction, and looks at the historical roots of the AI algorithms quietly making decisions about your life right now.

👉 Watch here.

🎉 ONE ACTION: Something for Everyone! 🎉

The weather is heating up and so is the action around the world. Myriad ways everyone can skill up and speak out.

• Down to Disenshittify the Internet? This virtual conversation with Cory Doctorow and the Electronic Frontier Foundation May 14th is for you. Register here.
• In Canada? Stop the pending giveaway of access and data to big tech from Bill C-22. Act here.
• In London? Come to the movies! Join us this weekend for a screening of Ghost in the Machine about the untold origins of AI.

That’s all for this week,
Team Citizens

*PS - Join our Signal Chat if you haven’t already! 350+ people share practical advice on protecting your data, organising against Big Tech and staying ahead of what you need to know.