In a significant move, Democratic lawmakers are intensifying pressure on major tech corporations to shed light on the conditions of their hidden workforce, often referred to as “ghost workers.” These behind-the-scenes laborers play a crucial role in tasks like data labeling and response rating, which are pivotal to the flourishing artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
A group of lawmakers led by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey and Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal has penned a letter urging the chief executives of nine prominent companies to divulge crucial information regarding their data workforce. The list of companies includes Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., and International Business Machines Corp., along with newer AI-focused firms OpenAI Inc., Inflection AI, Scale AI Inc., and Anthropic.
Key Points of Inquiry
The lawmakers’ inquiry is extensive, focusing on various aspects of the well-being and working conditions of these “ghost workers.” Some of the key points include:
- Working Conditions: They seek details about the working conditions, including the ability to take breaks, appeal suspensions, and access mental health resources when dealing with distressing content.
- Underpayment and Surveillance: The letter highlights concerns over underpayment and constant surveillance, raising questions about the well-being of these workers.
- Training and Supervision: The inquiry questions the extent of training and supervision provided to these data workers, emphasizing the potential introduction of bias due to insufficient training.
- Exploitation Concerns: Lawmakers express concerns about tech companies building AI technologies at the expense of exploited workers.
Ghost Workers in AI Development
To develop AI products and technologies, U.S. tech companies rely extensively on subcontracted staff, often hired through external staffing firms. These workers are frequently not entitled to the benefits offered to direct employees of the companies. Their roles encompass a wide range of labor, including content moderation, product quality assurance, and training, fixing, and improving algorithms.
For generative AI tools, which generate responses to text prompts in various formats, these hidden contract workers play a pivotal role in training and refining algorithms. However, they often report being underpaid, stressed, and overworked. In some cases, these workers are exposed to traumatic content while filtering it out.
The letter from lawmakers comes at a crucial time, coinciding with a closed-door AI summit, where top executives from major corporations are set to meet with senators. The summit, hosted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, aims to address AI-related issues, and the topic of ghost workers is likely to be a focal point.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey emphasized the importance of holding tech companies accountable for labor practices, stating, “When they come to the Capitol to tout their innovation and excellence, I’d like to hear them answer for these disgusting labor practices.”
