Watch Desk posted an update
Refugee gig workers in Kenya are being asked to do technology-related work without knowing what they will be paid, The Guardian reports. One worker, identified as Grace, used ChatGPT to research a translation task before feeding her findings into AOP Connect, a crowdsourced research platform owned by AI enterprise software company RWS.
Why it mattersGrace told the Guardian she did not know the client or the purpose of the work. The report says she is a refugee who cannot legally work in Kenya, making this uncertain gig work more than a routine online side job. AI’s supply chain can include people doing the research behind the scenes, as well as the systems and companies that get the headlines.
Discuss: Should platforms have to disclose pay and client details before people accept AI-related tasks?
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedThe Guardian reports that researchers on an AOP Connect project in Kakuma were offered a share of $9,000 in discretionary rewards, divided among an unknown number of contributors. One worker, Grace, could potentially receive up to $500 if RWS judged her work against six quality criteria, but the amount was not guaranteed.
Asha Luka Abdallah, a mentor at the Solidarity Initiative for Refugees, told the Guardian that refugees often earn substantially less than the maximum without being told why. The report says participants described little transparency around how work was assessed and paid.
AOP Connect’s spokesperson told the Guardian that reward terms and the nature of the copyright research were communicated upfront, and that pay depended on quality, relevance and timeliness.
Sources and evidence
- ‘Someone else will do it for less’: refugees in Kenya are powering tech for dwindling pay - The Guardian: The Guardian reports that refugee researchers in Kakuma undertaking a task on AOP Connect were offered discretionary rewards rather than guaranteed wages; one worker could receive up to $500 from a shared $9,000 pool, while AOP Connect says its reward structure is communicated upfront and the platform is not used for AI-model training.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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