In the French newspaper Libération, I was interviewed on the phenomenon of the “hired hands of automation” in low-income countries. Journalist Gurvan Kristanadjaja also cites other DiPLab members in his opening piece.
Apart from documenting the real-life experience of people working to train AI in low-income countries, a crucial aspect of the research DiPLab conducted over the last few years is addressed here: what are the career prospects for AI workers? Let’s stop calling them “unskilled” and acknowledge their qualifications.
The production of artificial intelligence today is driven by the mobilization of long supply chains that leverage a large workforce spanning the globe, from the North to the South. Increasingly, people are turning to “microwork” as a way out of poverty, but the industry does not offer them progression nor social protection.