THE DARK SIDE OF ALGORITHMS
Algorithms decide whether we are creditworthy, entitled to social welfare and which partner is the right one for us.
They make momentous decisions about our lives without our knowledge. It's hoped that they will be more efficient than us and eliminate human error with their cold logic.
But a look behind the intimidating façade of artificial intelligence reveals a very different, rather disturbing picture. We meet people whose lives have been turned upside down by misjudgments of algorithms. Like teenager Marie who became anorexic as a result of YouTube algorithms. Macarena, in Spain, was forced to go into hiding from her abusive husband for six years after an algorithm used by the police had calculated that she and her children were not at risk and therefore needed no further protection. Derya in the Netherlands became homeless after an algorithm branded her a fraud and the Dutch tax authorities demanded a refund of thousands of euros that she was unable to pay. These errors stem not from the algorithms themselves, however, but from their developers and users.
After all, algorithms are essentially neutral computations that can be used for good or for ill. But who is responsible if AI turns out to be a curse rather than a blessing?
Director Dorothe Dörholt
Written by Dorothe Dörholt & Violette de l’Isle Adam
DoP Marie Zahir
Original Sound Christoph Schnuell, Martin Paret
Editor, motion design Oliver Held
Assistant editor Sebastian Steimel
Music composer Iku
Line Producer Monika Mack , Clément Boudreault
Producers Birgit Schulz & Sonia Paramo
Commissioning editor Kathrin Bronnert, NDR
A co-production of Bildersturm Filmproduktion GmbH and Les Films Figures Libbers
In co-production with NDR, in co-operation with ARTE
and SPICEE, POM.tv, SRF
Supported by Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée, Procirep – Société des producteurs, Angoa, Région Occitanie