"Scale AI has recruited experts across fields such as medicine, physics, and economics to refine top-level artificial intelligence systems through a platform called Outlier. However, workers reported becoming involved in scraping an array of other people's personal data, which they described as a morally uncomfortable exercise."
"One Outlier contractor based in the US said users of Meta platforms would be surprised at how data from their accounts was collected, including pictures of users and their friends. They expressed concern that people did not realize their social media profiles were being used to generate AI data."
"Many of the contractors had other jobs as journalists, graduate students, teachers, and librarians, but they sought this extra work due to economic pressures. One worker stated, 'A lot of us were really desperate, and really tried to make the best of a bad situation.'"
Scale AI, partially owned by Meta, has hired tens of thousands to train AI by collecting personal data from Instagram and other platforms. Workers reported discomfort with the data scraping practices, which diverged from the intended goal of refining AI systems. The platform, Outlier, is managed by Scale AI and has ties to the Pentagon. Many contractors, including professionals from various fields, sought this work out of necessity in a challenging economy, highlighting the ethical implications of AI gig work and data privacy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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