The Sweatshop Workers Who Power A.I.

Jan 13, 2025

Discover the hidden human labor fueling AI technologies, from the challenges of data annotation to the harsh realities faced by content moderators. Learn about the exploitative conditions that many low-paid workers endure in the global south, as well as the environmental costs of massive data centers. The discussion also critiques the dominance of tech monopolies and the ethical implications of AI's rapid expansion. Dive into the paradox of AI's perceived independence, revealing the crucial human contributions behind the curtain.

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INSIGHT

AI's Physical Embodiment

AI has a physical presence, composed of servers, cables, and data centers.
It's not just software; it relies on vast material infrastructure.

ANECDOTE

Siri's Hidden Helpers

Siri's voice assistant in the Meta ad pretends to remember names.
In reality, it uses an invisible army of human laborers who identify people for it.

ANECDOTE

Data Annotation Labor

Data annotation for AI, like self-driving cars, involves thousands of hours of human labor.
Workers meticulously label images to train AI systems, like differentiating objects on roads.

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Siri has a body. AI’s most familiar voice is not just a disembodied all-knowing benefactor of trivia, recipes, and everything else you can’t recall (or never knew) at any particular moment. According to Professor James Muldoon, author of Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI, “... AI has a material body and exists only through new chips, servers and cables being manufactured and added to the machine. And just like a physical body, AI's material structure needs constant nourishment through electricity to power its operations and water to cool its servers every time we ask ChatGPT a question or use an internet search engine. The machine lives and breathes through this digital infrastructure.”

The physical body that makes up AI is not just sucking up water and power. AI is also built on the backs of real people. Not just the air-conditioned Silicon Valley engineers you might be imagining. AI relies on the work of hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers spread across the global south.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Written and Presented by Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Fact checking by max collins

Additional music by Tristan Capacchione and Audio Network

Further reading:

What’s behind the AI boom? Exploited humans — The LA Times
James Muldoon — Personal website
Mark Graham — Oxford Internet Institute

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