{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-14T10:32:22.757Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"disputed","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"unknown","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":0,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":2,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":2},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-france-romance-publisher-ended-work-of-several-dozen-literary-translators-moving-to-ai-machine-translation-agency","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'plusieurs dizaines de traducteurs et traductrices travaillant régulièrement avec les éditions Harlequin reçoivent les unes après les autres un appel téléphonique leur annonçant la fin de leur collaboration avec la maison d’édition. Leurs contrats en cours seront les derniers.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'plusieurs dizaines de traducteurs et traductrices collaborant régulièrement avec Harlequin ont appris la fin de leur relation avec l’éditeur.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The translators' associations say that over the preceding weeks several dozen translators who worked regularly with Harlequin received phone calls ending their collaboration, and that their current contracts would be the last.","causal_attribution":"The associations' account; Siècle Digital relays it. The publisher's denial concerns the extent of AI use, not the calls."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'un prestataire externe, l’agence de communication Fluent Planet, se chargera de passer les textes dans un logiciel de « traduction automatique » et de recruter directement en freelance des relecteurs et relectrices chargées de post-éditer la sortie machine en français.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'HarperCollins France would use a third party company called Fluent Planet to run Harlequin romance novels through a machine translation system.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"According to the associations, an outside agency, Fluent Planet, would run the texts through machine-translation software and recruit freelance post-editors to correct the machine output.","causal_attribution":"The associations' description, relayed by 404 Media; one origin."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Book publisher HarperCollins said it will start translating romance novels under its famous Harlequin label in France using AI'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"404 Media reports that HarperCollins said it would start translating Harlequin romance novels in France using AI.","causal_attribution":"404 Media's report of the publisher's statement (it credits Publishers Weekly); the statement itself was not read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Ils reçoivent un texte généré par l’IA qu’ils doivent corriger et réécrire dans des délais réduits, avec une rémunération nettement inférieure aux standards habituels.'; 'Certains évoquent des tarifs autour de 3 centimes par mot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'ne se voyant offrir comme compensation que la possibilité (sans aucune garantie, d’ailleurs) de travailler au rabais pour un prestataire externe'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The former translators were offered the role of post-editor, correcting AI-generated text on shorter deadlines for much lower pay; some cite about 3 cents per word.","causal_attribution":"Translators' and associations' accounts; the rate is attributed to some translators."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'les éditions Harlequin ont signé un contrat de 4 ans avec la société Fluent Planet pour permettre une traduction de ses publications par l’intelligence artificielle générative'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The writers' union SNAC says Harlequin signed a four-year contract with Fluent Planet for translation by generative AI reviewed by translators reduced to post-editors.","causal_attribution":"The union's statement; the contract was not inspected."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'HarperCollins France, propriétaire de Harlequin, réfute l’idée d’un basculement total vers la traduction automatique.'; 'aucune collection n’est traduite uniquement par l’IA et évoque de simples'; 'présentant l’IA comme un outil d’assistance et non comme un substitut'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"HarperCollins France rejects a full switch to machine translation, saying no collection is translated by AI alone and describing tests amid falling sales; Fluent Planet says AI is an assisting tool.","causal_attribution":"The publisher's and agency's responses as reported by Siècle Digital; recorded as counterevidence."}],"effects":[{"label":"Translators' regular work for the publisher ended","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Former translators offered only lower-paid post-editing of machine output","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://atlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CP-Harlequin-3.pdf","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French on 2026-11-01 (HTTP 200, PDF text extracted); translated by the research agent, an AI. The translators' associations' own statement.","independence_group":"atlf-en-chair-et-en-os-2025-12-15"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://siecledigital.fr/2025/12/18/harlequin-mise-sur-lia-pour-traduire-ses-romans-les-traducteurs-denoncent-une-rupture/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French on 2026-11-01 (HTTP 200); translated by the research agent, an AI. Relays the ATLF account and reports the publisher's and the agency's responses.","independence_group":"siecle-digital-2025-12-18"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://404media.co/harpercollins-will-use-ai-to-translate-harlequin-romance-novels","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-11-01 (HTTP 200); the free preview only, the rest is behind a member wall. Relays Publishers Weekly and the ATLF statement.","independence_group":"404media-harpercollins"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://actualitte.com/article/129039/tribunes/traductions-automatisees-un-modele-indigne-chez-harlequin","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French on 2026-11-01 (HTTP 200); translated by the research agent, an AI. A tribune by the writers' union SNAC published by ActuaLitté.","independence_group":"snac-tribune-actualitte"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["work"],"unknowns":["How many translators lost work: the associations say several dozen; no exact figure is given.","When the calls began: the release says over the previous weeks and Siècle Digital says from the autumn of 2025.","Which machine-translation or AI system Fluent Planet uses, and how much of each translation it produces.","Whether any translator accepted post-editing work, and at what pay."],"geography":{"basis":"Harlequin France, its parent HarperCollins France and the protesting associations are French, and the translations are into French for the French market (ATLF release, Siècle Digital). Translators' own residences are not used.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["FR"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a consequential response to a decision to adopt AI: the translators' associations say Harlequin ended several dozen translators' regular work as it moved translation to an agency using machine translation, and 404 Media reports the publisher said it would translate the novels using AI. The publisher disputes a full switch, and the count and dates are the associations'.","reviewed_on":"2026-11-01"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Consequential response to a decision to adopt AI. The translators' associations say Harlequin ended its translators' work as it moved translation to an agency that runs the books through machine-translation software for post-editing; 404 Media reports that HarperCollins said it would translate Harlequin novels in France using AI; a writers' union says the contract is for translation by generative AI. HarperCollins France says no collection is translated by AI alone. No AI output directed at the translators is described, so the person relation is unknown.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Translators' associations say Harlequin France ended several dozen literary translators' work as it moved translation to an AI machine-translation agency","summary":"In a press release of 15 December 2025, the French literary translators' association ATLF and the collective En chair et en os said that over the previous weeks several dozen translators who worked regularly for Harlequin, the romance imprint of HarperCollins France, had received phone calls telling them their collaboration was ending and that their current contracts would be the last. According to the associations, an outside agency, Fluent Planet, would run the books through machine-translation software and recruit freelancers to post-edit the output, and the affected translators were offered only lower-paid post-editing work for the agency. 404 Media reported that HarperCollins said it would start translating Harlequin novels in France using AI. HarperCollins France disputed a full switch: it said no collection is translated by AI alone, spoke of tests against a background of falling sales. Fluent Planet said AI assists the translator. The associations describe a loss of regular income for people who had worked with the publisher for up to twenty years, without unemployment rights as self-employed authors.","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-12-15","aiSystem":"Machine-translation software used by the agency Fluent Planet, which the agency describes as proprietary AI; described by a writers' union as generative AI","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI translation tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the translators' associations, several dozen literary translators lost regular work from Harlequin, being offered only lower-paid post-editing of machine output; the publisher disputes a full switch to AI.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The associations say several dozen translators ('plusieurs dizaines') received calls ending their collaboration; this is not an exact count or explicit lower bound, so zero placeholders are used. No individual translator is described.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"FR","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://atlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CP-Harlequin-3.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"ATLF and Collectif En chair et en os press release, 15 Dec 2025: Bradage de la traduction, plan social invisible : Harlequin passe à l'IA","firstPublishedAt":"2026-11-01T03:17:14.340087+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-11-01T03:17:14.340087+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["work","translation","publishing","freelance","machine-translation","ai-replacement"]},{"id":"2025-moscow-region-court-rules-programmers-dismissal-unlawful-after-employer-accused-him-of-abusing-ai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Работодатель обвинял сотрудника в злоупотреблении искусственным интеллектом в ходе выполнения задач.'; 'Позиция компании в суде сводилась к тому, что бывший сотрудник выполнял обязанности ненадлежащим образом и злоупотреблял ИИ, что подтверждали аналитические отчеты.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Представитель компании настаивал, что сотрудник ненадлежаще исполнял обязанности и злоупотреблял использованием ИИ — это якобы подтверждали аналитические отчёты.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In court, the employer's representative said the programmer had performed his duties improperly and had abused artificial intelligence when doing work tasks, which the company said its analytical reports confirmed.","causal_attribution":"The employer's position as recorded in the court materials reported by TASS; the analytical reports were not described or examined."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Истец утверждал, что работодатель не ознакомил его с должностной инструкцией, а в сентябре 2025 года принуждал к увольнению из‑за отказа подписать допсоглашение о переходе на почасовую оплату труда.'; 'По словам программиста, в отношении него провели пять служебных проверок и вынесли три дисциплинарных взыскания, с которыми он не согласился.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'По словам истца, на него завели пять служебных проверок и вынесли три дисциплинарных взыскания, с которыми он не согласился.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The programmer said the employer had pressed him to leave from September 2025 after he refused to sign an agreement moving him to hourly pay, and that he faced five internal inspections and three disciplinary penalties he disputed.","causal_attribution":"The programmer's own account in his claim, as reported from the court materials."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'По материалам суда, с которыми ознакомилось ТАСС, в пользу истца взыскано более 1,2 млн рублей — это средний заработок за период вынужденного прогула.'; 'Суд выяснил: письменные объяснения работника остались без рассмотрения и должной оценки'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Все выговоры с программиста сняты, ему компенсировали свыше 1,2 млн рублей среднего заработка за время вынужденного прогула.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Изменить формулировку основания увольнения на увольнение по п. 3 ч. 1 ст. 77 ТК РФ (расторжение трудового договора по инициативе работника) и дату увольнения'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The court found that the employer had ignored the programmer's written explanations, partly upheld his claim, changed the ground of dismissal to termination at the employee's initiative, adjusted the dismissal date, lifted the disciplinary penalties and awarded him over 1.2 million roubles in average earnings for the period of forced absence.","causal_attribution":"The decision as relayed by TASS from the court materials (one origin); the decision text itself was not read."}],"effects":[{"label":"disciplined and dismissed after the employer accused him of abusing AI; dismissal later found unlawful","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.osnmedia.ru/obshhestvo/sud-priznal-nezakonnym-uvolnenie-programmista-za-ispolzovanie-ii-i-vzyskal-1-2-mln-rublej/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ru","translation_note":"Read in Russian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Federal news service report, 27 October 2026, citing court materials seen by TASS; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"tass-moscow-region-court-materials-oct-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://vmo24.ru/news/programmist_otsudil_12_mln_rubley_sud_priznal_nezakonnym_uvolnenie_za_ispolzovanie_ii","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ru","translation_note":"Read in Russian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Moscow Region newspaper report, 27 October 2026, citing TASS and case materials; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"tass-moscow-region-court-materials-oct-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://newsroom24.ru/moskva/news/zhizn/2026/news_368576/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ru","translation_note":"Read in Russian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Regional news site report, 27 October 2026, citing TASS; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"tass-moscow-region-court-materials-oct-2026"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://finance.rambler.ru/money/57309380-programmist-otsudil-1-2-milliona-u-kompanii-uvolivshey-ego-za-ispolzovanie-ii/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ru","translation_note":"Read in Russian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-28 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Rambler republication of Vechernyaya Moskva, 27 October 2026, quoting the decision as relayed by TASS; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"tass-moscow-region-court-materials-oct-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["The court, the company, the date of the dismissal and the date of the decision.","What the employer's analytical reports showed and which AI tools the programmer was said to have used.","Whether the decision has entered into force or was appealed."],"geography":{"basis":"The reports describe a court in Moscow Region (Podmoskovye) deciding the programmer's claim against his former employer; the employment dispute is reported as taking place there. No city is given.","court_countries":["RU"],"event_countries":["RU"],"affected_person_countries":["RU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a consequential-response case: according to court materials reported by TASS, an employer accused a programmer of abusing AI at work, disciplined and dismissed him, and a Moscow Region court found the dismissal unlawful and awarded him over 1.2 million roubles. The programmer and the company are not named in any source.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The harm is the employer's response to the programmer's alleged AI use. According to the court materials reported by TASS, the company's representative told the court that the programmer abused artificial intelligence when doing work tasks, citing analytical reports, alongside improper performance of his duties; the court then found the dismissal unlawful. No source describes any AI output or says what the AI use consisted of, so no relation between an AI system and the programmer is established and the relation is unknown under the consequential-response exemption.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Moscow Region court rules dismissal of programmer whose employer accused him of abusing AI unlawful and awards him over 1.2 million roubles","summary":"A court in Moscow Region, Russia, ruled in favour of a programmer whose employer had disciplined him and ended his employment, according to court materials reported by TASS on 27 October 2026 and relayed by regional outlets. In court the company's representative said the programmer had performed his duties improperly and had abused artificial intelligence when doing work tasks, which the company said its analytical reports showed. The programmer said the employer had pressed him to leave from September 2025 after he refused to sign an agreement moving him to hourly pay, and that he faced five internal inspections and three disciplinary penalties he disputed. The court found that the employer had ignored his written explanations, partly upheld his claim, changed the recorded ground of dismissal to termination at the employee's initiative, adjusted the dismissal date, lifted the penalties and awarded him over 1.2 million roubles in average earnings for the period of forced absence, plus moral damages and costs.","incidentDate":"2025-09-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-27","aiSystem":"Unidentified AI tools that, according to the employer's representative in court, the programmer abused when doing work tasks; no tool is named and no AI output is described","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI tools","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The programmer was disciplined and dismissed after his employer accused him of abusing AI and performing poorly; the court found the dismissal unlawful and awarded over 1.2 million roubles in lost average earnings (TASS from court materials).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the programmer whose dismissal the court found unlawful.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"RU","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.osnmedia.ru/obshhestvo/sud-priznal-nezakonnym-uvolnenie-programmista-za-ispolzovanie-ii-i-vzyskal-1-2-mln-rublej/","primarySourceLabel":"OSN, 27 October 2026: court rules programmer's dismissal over AI use unlawful and awards 1.2 million roubles","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-28T03:14:05.780921+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-28T03:14:05.780921+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["dismissal","workplace-ai","labour-court","russia","consequential-response"]}]}