Germany: AI’s arrival in businesses shows promise but remains slow and uneven

The strike days organised by the ver.di trade union and the works council of TikTok Germany in July and September are undoubtedly the first real labour dispute linked to the use of artificial intelligence in Germany. The reason for a quarter of TikTok Berlin’s 400 employees opting to walk out is simple. The Chinese company wants to significantly reduce internal content moderation through outsourcing and the use of AI. Around 150 employees in the ‘Trust and Safety’ sector and 15 members of the TikTok Live team will lose their jobs. Ironically, it is precisely their work that has ‘fed’ the programmes that will replace them. Hence the protest banners reading “We trained your machines. Pay us what we deserve”. Among other things, the employees concerned and the union are demanding three years’ severance pay and 12 months’…