Tech Giants Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft Under Scrutiny from Lawmakers for AI Labor Exploitation Concerns

Bloomberg reports that big tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and six (6) others are going to face inspection from Democratic lawmakers for using "ghost work" to boost the artificial intelligence market.

The term "ghost work" refers to the behind-the-scenes task carried out by humans, but believed by a customer to be performed by an AI or automated process.  

The letter filed by lawmakers in the United States stated that these individuals who undergo such tasks are put under demanding tasks, low wages, and constant surveillance.

Senator Ed Markey and Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal who led the lawmakers, expressed concerns in a letter that was sent to the CEOs of nine (9) companies, including Meta Platforms, Microsoft Corp., Amazon, Alphabet, OpenAI Inc., Inflection AI, Scale AI Inc., Anthropic, and International Business Machines Corp.

In the letter, they said that these workers have access to screen out harmful chatbot answers, but the time allocated to them is not sufficient.

They also said that a lack of proper training given to workers can cause bias in AI systems. The letter also asked the executives to provide detailed information on the data workforce.

The lawmakers also seek to know what these executives are doing concerning workers who are exposed to distressing content. Also, they want to know more about their break, procedures for appealing suspensions, and having access to mental health resources.

Read more on Bloomberg.