Artificial intelligence relies heavily on human workers for data labeling, primarily in the Global South, particularly the Philippines. These workers face grueling conditions, lacking benefits and recognition as tech employees despite being crucial to the AI ecosystem. The narrative focuses on AI's capabilities, glossing over the significant environmental damage from data operations. The cloud infrastructure's carbon footprint exceeds that of the airline industry, posing serious ecological concerns. Recent efforts by data critics highlight the pressing need for better treatment and representation of the labor force behind AI technologies.
The convenient narrative the Broligarchy sells to us is that it's all about those clever machines... creating a new world order from which all will benefit.
The reality is that what's really the 'cloud' is a larger carbon footprint than the airline industry... manifested in water-guzzling datacentres and extractive mining.
Data labelling is the ground floor of AI without which it simply could not exist - and it's done exclusively by humans not machines, in grueling conditions.
Many of these people work in their homes or in internet cafes when they can't afford to own a computer themselves.
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