We are excited to share an important milestone in our research: the publication of a new article just published in a special issue of the journal Globalizations by DiPLab co-founder Paola Tubaro, introducing and developing the concept of the “dual footprint”: the idea that every digital process leaves both a data work imprint and a material, environmental one. The impacts of artificial intelligence on the natural and social surroundings that supply resources for its production and use have been studied separately so far. Tubaro employs the “dual footprint” as a heuristic device to capture the commonalities and interdependencies between them. She uses two in-depth case studies – international flows of raw materials and of data work services between Argentina and the United States on the one hand, and between Madagascar, France and East Asia on the other. They portray the AI industry as a value chain that spans national boundaries and perpetuates inherited global inequalities. The countries that drive AI development, mostly in the Global North, generate a massive demand for inputs and trigger social costs that, through the value chain, largely fall on more peripheral actors. The arrangements in place distribute the costs and benefits of AI unequally, resulting in unsustainable practices and preventing the upward mobility of more disadvantaged countries. If you want to cite this article: > Tubaro, P. (2025). The dual footprint of artificial intelligence: > environmental and social impacts across the globe. Globalizations, 1–18. > https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2025.2589571 You can access the preprint version here: DualFootprint_12072025Download The dual footprint grasps how the environmental and social dimensions of AI production emanate from similar underlying socio-economic processes and geographical trajectories. This framework helps us better understand the true costs of digitalization and the global inequalities it reproduces. It also constitutes the foundation of SEED – Social and Environmental Effects of Data Connectivity, a new project that investigates how data extraction and material extraction are deeply interconnected. It stems from a collaboration with the Núcleo Milenio FAIR at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and compares data and material infrastructures between Europe and South America.

CLOUDFLARE Oggi Cloudflare si è rotta e con lei mezzo internet, cogliamo l’occasione per fare l’ennesimo pippone su piracy shield e su come aziende come Cloudfare stanno facendo lobby negli USA per ostacolare questo tipo di leggi che si stanno diffondendo in europa. DI INTELLLLLLIGENZE ARTIFICIALI Delirio illogico che serve ad alimentare una bolla E ANCORA GDPR Dopo che Draghi aveva bastonato la GDPR come retrograda e inibitrice del boom delle AI in EU (https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-dragi-eu-policy-donald-trump-clean-industrial-deal/) arriva la bozza omnibus a modificarne sostanzialmente il contenuto, e una modifica importante riguarda proprio rendere i nostri dati masticabili dalle AI. Secondo la bozza ottenuta del pacchetto Omnibus (che verrà ufficialmente presentato domani) che avrà delle enormi ripercussioni sulla GDPR, in breve:     1) Le aziende potranno usare quelli che prima erano definiti dati sensibili (salute, opinioni politche e religiose etc.) per addestrare le loro AI.     2) I dati pseudoanonimizzati non saranno considerati dati personali.     3) Introduzione di maggiori giustificazioni per il tracciamento online degli utenti via i cookie, che vanno oltre il semplice accettare le policy.     Sempre secondo Politico non ci sarebbe il consenso da parte di tutti i paesi.     La GDPR è stata comunque oggetto di enormi campagne di lobbying da parte delle aziende high-tech, che hanno speso più di qualsiasi altra industria nel finanziare i lobbisti di Bruxells. Questo anche perché sta oggettivamente bloccando il rilascio di alcune soluzioni basate su AI (X, MEta e Linkedin hanno evitato, Google per Bard è sotto inchiesta dal DPA irlandese).

A fine ottobre 2025, Amazon ha annunciato il taglio di 14.000 lavoratorə, il più grande licenziamento nella storia dell’azienda fondata da Jeff Bezos. Anche Meta, Intel, Microsoft e altre aziende hanno effettuato o programmato decine di migliaia di licenziamenti, dichiarando che lə lavoratorə in esubero sarebbero state sostituite con personale AI. Questa e altri roboanti notizie che spesso leggiamo sui giornali, ci fanno pensare che l’apocalisse tecnologica sia arrivata, che milioni di lavoro siano in procinto di essere persi in quanto l’AI è in grado di farli al posto nostro. Ma è davvero così? Ne abbiamo parlato con Kenobit. Citati nella puntata: Articolo di Cory Doctorow su Pluralistic Traduzione di Kenobit Podcast dell’info e di stakka stakka

EVENTI > Hack’emMuort https://hacklabbo.indivia.net/hackordiye25/programma HACKROCCHIO 5-6-7 DICEMBRE @MEZCAL SQUAT NIMBUS / ISRAEL / GOOGLE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/29/google-amazon-israel-contract-secret-code In 2021, cloud-computing giants Google and Amazon won a major contract (worth about US$1.2 billion) with the State of Israel called “Project Nimbus”. As part of that deal, Israel inserted a requirement for the companies to use a secret coded payment system (dubbed a “winking mechanism”) to notify the Israeli government when the companies handed over Israeli government or military data to foreign law-enforcement or judicial authorities – even when the companies were prohibited from notifying Israel or the customer. BOLLA AI https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-10-07/openai-s-nvidia-amd-deals-boost-1-trillion-ai-boom-with-circular-deals > Pluralistic: When AI prophecy fails (29 Oct 2025)

“Essere insieme non è mai innocente.”Judith Butler ⚠️Dossier Biennale MMXXV — È il vento che fa il cielo” (ascolto integrale a cura di Radio Ministero, la radio per l’italia-a-a-a-a-ano vero) Nell’Italia MMXXV, dove la “cultura” è diventata strumento di egemonia reazionaria, il silenzio degli artisti è complicità e la cosiddetta neutralità il travestimento elegante dell’assassino […]

Con l’avvento di ChatGPT, la frontiera tra mente umana e intelligenza artificiale sembra improvvisamente più sottile. Fabio Ciotti esplora come i modelli linguistici… L'articolo Le AI sognano pappagalli stocastici? sembra essere il primo su L'INDISCRETO.

Lo sfogo rancoroso e carico di dolore contro l’IA non ci aiuta a intravedere la via verso un futuro migliore: né utopie né… L'articolo I cinque stadi del lutto da AI sembra essere il primo su L'INDISCRETO.

Has artificial intelligence truly outgrown its “Global South data sweatshop” phase? The recent deluge of “AI tutor” job advertisements on LinkedIn targeting highly qualified candidates with advanced degrees might suggest so. When Sam Altman claims his chatbot is “PhD-level smart,” one might assume this reflects a genuine shift toward elite expertise in AI training. However, groundbreaking investigative reporting published by Africa Uncensored reveals a more troubling reality: these recruitment campaigns represent elaborate investor-facing theatrics rather than meaningful industry evolution. DiPLab applauds the exceptional work of data journalists and Pulitzer Center Artificial Intelligence Accountability fellows Kathryn Cleary and Marché Arends, whose year-long investigation exposed a curious case study in modern AI labor practices. Their research focused on companies like Mindrift and Scale AI’s Outlier, which have been flooding professional networks with advertisements for highly qualified and relatively well-compensated “AI tutors” and “trainers,” primarily targeting workers in high-income countries across North America and Europe. These positions appeared to target elite specialists rather than the typical pool of low-paid data annotators traditionally associated with AI training. The recruitment campaigns seems to suggest that major tech companies, in their aggressive push toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), are now seeking only the most brilliant minds to train sophisticated chain-of-thought models. The Africa Uncensored investigation reveals a starkly different reality. Once recruited, these qualified workers—many holding advanced degrees in physics, philology, and other specialized fields—were left idle for months, barely managing to earn double-digit wages. They were essentially serving as props in an elaborate performance of AI progress, carefully staged to impress investors and signal scalability to potential big tech clients. Meanwhile, on platforms targeting workers in the Global South, such as Mindrift’s sister platform Toloka, recruitment for poorly paid microtasks continued under largely exploitative conditions. This parallel system reveals the persistent nature of what researchers have termed “digital sweatshops.” For DiPLab and its research community, these findings represent “old wine in new bottles.” For nearly a decade, DiPLab researchers have been encountering and interviewing data workers who hold Master’s and Doctoral degrees—experts in their own right across diverse disciplines. Many of these highly qualified individuals remain unemployed due to dysfunction in traditional job markets, or find themselves forced to accept data work that neither matches their specialization nor provides adequate compensation. According to DiPLab co-founder Antonio Casilli, interviewed along prof. Edemilson Paranà and dr. Adio Dinika, in the exposé: “This is the biggest waste of social capital in human history. These people would be, should be, destined to the best jobs because they are probably the best and the brightest of their generation.” The mass recruitment strategy serves a specific economic function within what researchers call “labor hedging”—a tactic where companies amass large pools of workers primarily to signal scalability and attract major contracts. As the investigation revealed, Mindrift alone posted over 5,770 job listings across 62 countries in just four months, yet provided minimal actual work opportunities. This approach allows platforms to maintain what they euphemistically term “talent pools”—readily available workforces that can be presented to potential clients as evidence of operational capacity. When a major tech company inquires about access to specialized expertise, these platforms can point to their extensive databases of pre-vetted candidates as proof of their ability to deliver at scale. DiPLab’s research situates these practices within the broader context of platform capitalism surrounding AI development. The current AI boom and the associated recruitment theater serve as crucial signals in this speculative environment. As Casilli noted, “Investors are on LinkedIn too, they see this [mass recruitment], it is a signal for them. This looks more like a communications operation.” These platforms understand that LinkedIn functions not merely as a talent acquisition tool, but as a visibility platform for investor audiences. The courageous reporting by Cleary and Arends, supported by Africa Uncensored, an outlet willing to publish investigations that major US and European media often avoid, highlights the critical need for continued scrutiny of AI labor practices. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DiPLab researchers Paola Tubaro and Antonio Casilli recently completed a research mission to Santiago, Chile, participating in key academic events that advanced understanding of artificial intelligence’s social and environmental dimensions. Tubaro delivered a keynote address at the 4th annual workshop of the Millennium Nucleus on the Evolution of Work (M-NEW), where she serves as a senior international member. The interdisciplinary workshop convened labor scholars from across Latin America and internationally to examine contemporary work transformations. Her presentation drew on DiPLab’s multi-year research program investigating the invisible human labor underlying global AI production. Tubaro’s analysis traced the evolution of this work form over two decades, demonstrating that while core functions in smart system development have remained consistent, the scope and volume of these tasks have expanded significantly. Tubaro and Casilli also participated in the inaugural meeting of SEED (“Social and Environmental Effects of Data connectivity: Hybrid ecologies of transoceanic cables and data centers in Chile and France”), a new collaborative research project between DiPLab and the Millennium Nucleus FAIR (“Futures of Artificial Intelligence Research”). The project has received joint funding from the ECOS-SUD programme (France) and ANID (Chile) to analyze the complete AI value chain, examining production, development, employment impacts, usage patterns, and environmental consequences through comparative study of the Valparaíso-Santiago de Chile and Marseille-Paris corridors. In their SEED presentations, Tubaro and Casilli introduced the concept of the “dual footprint” as an analytical framework for understanding the interconnected environmental and social impacts of AI systems. This heuristic device captures commonalities and interdependencies between AI’s effects on natural and social environments that provide resources for its production and deployment. DiPLab researchers framed the AI industry as a transnational value chain that perpetuates existing global inequalities. Countries driving AI development generate substantial demand for inputs while externalizing social costs through the value chain to more peripheral actors. These arrangements distribute AI’s costs and benefits unequally, resulting in unsustainable practices and limiting upward mobility for disadvantaged countries. The dual footprint framework demonstrates how environmental and social dimensions of AI emerge from similar structural dynamics, providing a unified approach to understanding AI’s comprehensive impact on global resource systems.

It has been a particularly productive semester for DiPLab researchers and affiliates in terms of publishing articles and book chapters. Here are the complete citations (and open access links) of our recent contributions that compare data work in various countries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Special issue of New Political Economy guest-edited by Uma Rani Amara and Nicolas Pons-Vignon on “Power relations in the digital economy” has been published as Volume 30, issue 3 of the journal. It includes our article on “Where does AI come from?”, a comparison of data work in Venezuela, Madagascar, and France. > Tubaro, Paola, Antonio A. Casilli, Maxime Cornet, Clément Le Ludec, and Juana > Torres Cierpe. 2025. “Where Does AI Come from? A Global Case Study across > Europe, Africa, and Latin America.” New Political Economy 30 (3): 359–72. > doi:10.1080/13563467.2025.2462137. (preprint access here: > https://inria.hal.science/hal-04933816v1) The Journal Globalizations has published a special issue on The Political Economy of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America. It features our article on AI labor in Brazil and Argentina. > Tubaro, Paola, Antonio A. Casilli, Mariana Fernández Massi, Julieta Longo, > Juana Torres Cierpe, and Matheus Viana Braz. 2025. “The Digital Labour of > Artificial Intelligence in Latin America: A Comparison of Argentina, Brazil, > and Venezuela.” Globalizations, February, 1–16. > doi:10.1080/14747731.2025.2465171. (preprint access here: > https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04935984v1) The Handbook of Digital Labor, edited by Jack Linchuan Qiu, Shinjoung Yeo, and Richard Maxwell, has been released by Wiley Blackwell. This comprehensive work brings together leading voices on the transformations of labor in the digital age. Among its contributions, our chapter on global inequalities and AI, comparing Venezuela, France, Madagascar, and Brazil. > Casilli, Antonio A., Paola Tubaro, Maxime Cornet, Clément Le Ludec, Juana > Torres-Cierpe, et al. 2025. Global Inequalities in the Production of > Artificial Intelligence: A Four-Country Study on Data Work. In: Jack Linchuan > Qiu, Shinjoung Yeo, Richard Maxwell (eds.). The Handbook of Digital Labor, > Wiley Blackwell, pp.219-232, 2025, ISBN10: 9781119981800. (preprint access > here: https://hal.science/hal-04742532v2) The journal New Technology, Work and Employment has made available, as an online first, the new article by Juana Torres-Cierpe and Paola Tubaro about Venezuelan data workers. > Torres-Cierpe, Juana and Paola Tubaro. 2025. Uninvited Protagonists: The > Networked Agency of Venezuelan Platform Data Workers. New Technology, Work and > Employment. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12340 (preprint access here: > https://hal.science/hal-05041068v1)