Underage Workers Are Training AI

The article discusses the exploitation of underage workers in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. It focuses on the story of Hassan, a teenager from Pakistan, who started working on data labeling and content moderation tasks for AI companies during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Despite platforms requiring workers to be over 18, many, like Hassan, bypass checks by using a relative's details. The article also highlights the low pay for such work, often less than $2 an hour, and the mental health impact of moderating explicit content.

The global data labeling and collection industry, expected to grow to over $17.1 billion by 2030, connects remote gig workers in countries like Pakistan, India, and Kenya to tech companies in Silicon Valley. The article also mentions the use of child labor in captcha solving services, a less understood part of the AI ecosystem. Despite the exploitation and low pay, some workers appreciate the platforms for providing work opportunities and income in US dollars.

Key takeaways:

Underage workers, including children, are being used in the global artificial intelligence supply chain, often bypassing age checks on platforms such as Toloka, Appen, Clickworker, Teemwork.AI, and OneForma.
These workers, predominantly based in East Africa, Venezuela, Pakistan, India, and the Philippines, are involved in tasks such as data labeling, content moderation, and generating data to train AI systems.
The global data labeling and collection industry is expected to grow to over $17.1 billion by 2030, with tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Adobe among the clients of these platforms.
Despite the low pay and often exploitative conditions, some workers find the work preferable to other options due to the flexibility and the ability to earn in US dollars.

Underage Workers Are Training AI

Key takeaways:

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