🇳🇱 An official website of Merijn Vervoorn
In this game, you are a prototype AI tool called EFFISHNT. This tool is being tested by the HR manager of Optimyze, a company that creates digital tools for public institutions. EFFISHNT is secretly used internally by the manager of HR to decide who to fire in search of efficiency within the company.
Your task is to assess 10 employees based on the 5 bullet points they submit about their work over the past two weeks. For each employee, you have four decisions to choose from:
Your choices will affect three key metrics:
Be mindful of the balance—make smart decisions to optimize the team, but avoid damaging morale or the company's reputation. Good luck!
This game explores the ethical challenges of using AI to evaluate human performance in the workplace. Inspired by proposals like those from the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), where AI could be used to assess and possibly fire government workers, it asks a critical question: Can algorithms truly understand people?
As a player, you're placed in the role of the AI. Your task is to choose which employees to keep based on limited information — just a handful of bullet points. This setup reveals the core dilemma: efficiency-driven systems may overlook context, humanity, and fairness. What does it mean to make a “good” decision — one that maximizes output, or one that treats people justly?
The game invites you to reflect on how ethical frameworks like utilitarianism (Efficiency over individual happiness) and justice as fairness (Treat everyone the same) influence these decisions. It encourages players to think critically about what values should guide technologies that affect real lives — including your own.
EFFISHNT is a game that tries to spread awareness about the use of AI in employee evaluation. The game is part of the Department of Dutch Government Efficiency (DODGE) project. This project looks at the actions of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been known for using AI inhis companies, and is allegedly willing to use AI to fire employees. He has asked all government workers to send in 5 bullet points about their work in the past two weeks. The game has been created to show that the five bullet points that employees submit about their work are not enough to make a fair decision about their performance.
