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https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-10-14/artificial-intelligence-ai-appen-data-labelling-ghost-workers/101531084>
'In news headlines, artificial intelligence is sold as miraculous: somehow
better at diagnosing than doctors, more effective at design than architects.
In the narratives spun by start-ups and industry behemoths, AI is the
mysterious creation of those few with six- to seven-figure salaries and degrees
from ivy-covered universities.
But behind our increasingly smooth experiences online are a vast number of
people that label the data that trains these systems, often precariously
employed as contractors without sick leave or bargaining power.
Sometimes called "ghost workers", they may be students in America's Midwest,
stay-at-home workers in Canada or, as MIT Technology Review reported,
Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia doing digital "piece work".
This includes manually tagging photos and video, transcribing audio and
categorising text, so when we use a search engine or speak to a voice
assistant, the process feels effortless.
This is the "sleight of hand" behind terms like AI or machine learning,
according to Sarah T. Roberts, an associate professor of information studies at
UCLA, who has spent time with workers in the Philippines who do content
moderation for companies like Facebook.
"Nothing in any of those terms suggest that there are legions of humans that
are needed," she said.
Some of these legions work for Appen.
A globally significant and long-term player in the AI supply chain, the
Sydney-headquartered company boasts of having 1 million "flexible contributors"
in more than 170 countries who do these tasks for clients including Amazon,
Google and Boeing.'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
