At Météo-France, forecasters are on strike against automation linked to AI
At Météo France, the forecasters are at their wits’ end.
The unions have filed a strike notice until April to denounce the implementation of a new automated database, which does the work for agents and presents several malfunctions.
A meteorologist works in the Météo France premises before the passage of cyclone Belal, in Saint-Denis, on the island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, on January 14, 2024. AFP - RICHARD BOUHET
By: RFI Follow
Advertisement
Read more
For several months,
Météo-France
has been using artificial intelligence.
This new system, 3P – for Program, Forecast, Production – is controlled by Alpha software.
This algorithm makes it possible to generate automated forecasts intended for the general public, available on the Météo-France website and application.
Previously, this data was verified by different agents located in one of the seven offices in the region.
From now on, it is a single person based at headquarters in Toulouse who corrects Alpha's forecasts.
Read also: Europe acquires high-performance weather satellites
Temperature errors, staff reductions...
The problem is that for some time now, there have been one set of hiccups within the public establishment.
In the middle of December, the
weather
report announced 28 degrees in Strasbourg.
Concerns are growing among agents who question the reliability of the system.
The union organizations are demanding, among other things, “
additional staff
” as well as an “
emergency plan to allow the correction of automatic forecasts in the region
”.
Besides temperature errors, is this tool replacing their work?
The answer is “yes” according to the unions, who denounce reductions in staff numbers.
Over the last fifteen years, Météo France has lost a third of its staff, or 1,200 positions out of 3,700.
New long strike notice at @meteofrance.
The automation of general public forecasts via 3P is definitely not acceptable to forecasters!
And the recent budget cuts at Bercy (1 to 2% of the initial budget!?) are even more worrying!
@Ecologie_Gouv pic.twitter.com/PWyzCUn3BP
— FO Météo (@MeteoFo) February 27, 2024
Also read: New immediate weather forecasting technology arrives in Africa
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your inbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Share :
Continue reading on the same themes:
France
Climate
Employment and Work
Artificial intelligence