"Workers that made ChatGPT less harmful ask lawmakers to stem alleged exploitation by Big Tech", 14 July 2023

Kenyan workers who helped remove harmful content on ChatGPT, OpenAI’s smart search engine that generates content based on user prompts, have filed a petition before the country’s lawmakers calling them to launch investigations on Big Tech outsourcing content moderation and AI work in Kenya.

The petitioners want investigations into the “nature of work, the conditions of work, and the operations” of the big tech companies that outsource services in Kenya through companies like Sama — which is at the heart of several litigations on alleged exploitation, union-busting and illegal mass layoffs of content moderators...

...The workers say they were exploited, and not offered psychosocial support, yet they were exposed to harmful content that left them with “severe mental illness.” The workers want the lawmakers to “regulate the outsourcing of harmful and dangerous technology” and to protect the workers that do it.

...OpenAI’s response to the alleged exploitation acknowledged that the work was challenging, adding that it had established and shared ethical and wellness standards (without giving further details on the exact measures) with its data annotators for the work to be delivered “humanely and willingly.”...

...“We recognize this is challenging work for our researchers and annotation workers in Kenya and around the world — their efforts to ensure the safety of AI systems has been immensely valuable,” said OpenAI’s spokesperson.

Sama told TechCrunch it was open to working with the Kenyan government “to ensure that baseline protections are in place at all companies.” ...