Gig Workers Fuel Meta's AI with Disturbing Data Sources
Thousands of 'taskers' for Meta-owned Scale AI expose the dark underbelly of AI training, scraping personal data, copyrighted content, and explicit media.
In a disturbing revelation, an investigation by the Guardian has uncovered the unsavory practices employed by Scale AI, a company 49% owned by Meta (Facebook), in its quest to train powerful artificial intelligence systems. Tens of thousands of gig workers, dubbed 'taskers,' have been recruited to comb through a vast array of personal and copyrighted content, including Instagram profiles, pornographic soundtracks, and even dog feces, all in the name of refining AI models for Meta's platforms.
Scale AI, which operates a platform called Outlier, has cast a wide net, hiring experts from fields like medicine, physics, and economics to ostensibly help 'refine top-level artificial intelligence systems.' The company's tagline, 'Become the expert that AI learns from,' belies the unsavory nature of the tasks these workers are asked to undertake.
Source: The Guardian
