tech
Porn, dog poo and social media snaps: the ‘taskers’ scraping the internet for Meta-owned AI firm
Scale AI gig workers describe desperation of using people’s personal profiles and copyrighted work to train AI
TL;DR
- Scale AI, partly owned by Meta, has employed thousands of 'taskers' to train AI systems.
- Taskers reported ethically questionable assignments, such as scraping personal data from social media, labeling disturbing images, and transcribing explicit audio.
- Many workers felt they were training AI that would eventually replace them, expressing guilt and anger about the system.
- The work is characterized by instability, constant monitoring, and accusations of 'bait-and-switch' pay tactics.
- Scale AI claims workers choose their tasks, are not required to perform uncomfortable ones, and do not work with child abuse material or explicit pornography.