How AI Fosters Global Inequalities

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Description

Presentation of Prof. Antonio A. Casilli research as part of the panoptiwork event serie. Abstract of the keynote:
Tensions over AI's impact on human labor dominate public debate today.
The opposite question is rarely asked, however: what does human labor do to AI? As a matter of fact, labor plays an important role in the production of machine learning solutions, but it is often overlooked. AI workers aren't just software developers and system engineers, they're also lesser-known and less well-paid data workers. Voice assistants, self-driving cars, and facial recognition tools are created through labor-intensive processes that involve crowdworkers, clickworkers, and microworkers performing tasks like image labeling, information sorting, voice sampling, and audio transcription.

The public opinion in North America and Europe is growing aware of the precarious work arrangements and the competition among workers that data labeling activities engender. But much of this work is outsourced to Global South countries with informal economies and less-regulated labor markets, perpetuating colonial-like relationships and global economic dependencies.

This presentation explores the working conditions and socio-demographic profiles of data workers across four low-, middle-, and high-income countries (Venezuela, Madagascar, Brazil, and France). The analysis is based on observations conducted by the DiPLab (Digital Platform Labor) research team from 2020 to 2023. By combining mixed-methods and primary data, we show how historical global inequalities still shape international digital labor and data supply chains.
Period20-Nov-2023
Event typeSeminar
Conference numberpanoptiwork talk 3
LocationGroningen, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Keywords

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Crowdwork
  • Human Rights
  • Workers rights

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