The Dark Secret Powering AI: Exploited Human Labor Fuels Tech Giants

AI’s rise powered by exploited human labor: When tech companies present their AI products as sleek, autonomous machines, they often ignore the reality of the low-paid, menial labor that trains these systems and is managed by them.

Illusion of autonomous AI has historical roots: The current perception of AI as fully automated has parallels to the 18th-century “Mechanical Turk” chess-playing machine, which secretly relied on a human chess master to operate it. Similarly, today’s sophisticated AI software functions only through thousands of hours of low-paid human labor.

• Amazon coined the term “artificial artificial intelligence” to describe the process of keeping human labor integrated into seemingly automated processes.
• When AI systems break down or do not function properly, human workers often step in to assist algorithms in completing the work and improving the system.

AI as an “extraction machine”: The rise of AI is being powered by various types of workers, including data annotators, content moderators, machine learning engineers, data center technicians, writers, and artists, often working in challenging conditions.

• In Kenya and Uganda, data annotators work 10-hour days for less than $2 an hour, performing repetitive tasks with no opportunities for career progression.
• In Ireland, a voice actor discovered a synthesized version of her own voice produced without her knowledge using AI tools.
• In Iceland, data center workers documented the energy-intensive nature of these centers, which consume more electricity than Icelandic households combined.

AI’s impact on the broader workforce: When AI is implemented in the workplace, it often centralizes knowledge of the labor process, reduces the level of skill required for jobs, and forces workers to work harder and faster for their employers’ benefit.

Principles for a fairer future of AI work: Four key principles should drive the expansion of AI to ensure a more just future for workers:

1. Build and connect organizations devoted to exercising the collective power of workers across national boundaries and throughout the global AI production networks.
2. Encourage civil society and social movements to pressure companies to guarantee minimum standards for all workers in their supply chains.
3. Establish government regulations and global agreements to mandate minimum working standards for all workers.
4. Explore worker-led interventions, such as cooperatives and company boards with equal worker representation, to implement meaningful workplace democracy.

Analyzing deeper: While implementing these principles may face challenges from global capitalism, it is crucial to defend workers’ rights against the latest generation of venture capital-funded tech titans. As AI continues to expand rapidly, addressing the hidden human labor that powers it and ensuring fair working conditions for all involved should be a top priority for companies, governments, and society as a whole.