"Artificial intelligence has graced humanity with many blessings: videos of Stephen Hawking as professional wrestler, thousands of AI-generated podcasts, and more cutting edge Spotify tunes than anyone can hope to hear in a lifetime. Unfortunately, the technology of the future demands a high price. On top of the exorbitant energy cost fueling a return to industrial-era levels ofpollution,"
"As reported by Agence France-Presse,workers in long-exploited countries like Kenya, Colombia, and India are becoming increasingly outraged over the miserable labor of AI training. For example, as the wire service notes, for an AI chatbot to generate an autopsy report, contract workers have to sift through thousands of gruesome crime scene images, a gig known as "data labeling.""
"Though the work is often done remotely - thus saving on the overhead costs of leasing an office - data labeling isn't exactly a cushy laptop job. Workers involved in this industrial operation describe grueling hours, few if any workplace protections, and frequent tasks involving violent or grisly content. In theory, it's not unlike social media content moderation, another digital practice built on exploitative labor in the developing world."
AI development incurs significant environmental and human costs. Excessive energy use is driving higher pollution while large-scale data-labeling operations depend on low-wage workers in underdeveloped countries. Workers in Kenya, Colombia, and India frequently perform traumatic tasks, such as reviewing gruesome crime-scene images to enable chatbot outputs like autopsy reports. Data-labeling is often remote but entails long hours, scarce workplace protections, and minimal mental-health support. Major AI firms commonly hire third-party contractors who outsource to local labor forces, creating layers of employment that shield principal companies from direct responsibility for working conditions.
Read at Futurism
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