The article highlights the plight of African workers, like Mercy and Anita, who are integral to AI development but face exploitation with low wages and psychological distress from their jobs as content moderators and data annotators.
Content moderators in Nairobi can face graphic content, like the accident which involved Mercy's grandfather.
Many data workers face long hours, strict targets, and exposure to violent content.
Content moderation and data annotation are key for AI function but are often undercompensated.
AI development heavily depends on repetitive and grueling data labeling tasks.
Outsourcing these jobs to the global south enables exploitation due to high unemployment rates.