AI does not remove human labour; instead, it shifts work to less developed economies by creating demand for data labelling, content moderation, and algorithmic training. This global shift relies heavily on an unseen, low-wage workforce located in the Global South.
The New Global Labour Chain
- Data Annotation: Workers tag images and text to train AI models.
- Content Moderation: Low-paid staff clean harmful data from systems.
- Micro-Tasks: Small digital jobs outsource model fine-tuning globally.
Economic and Social Impacts
- Low Wages: Workers often earn below local living standards.
- Poor Conditions: Lack of job security and exposure to toxic content.
- Unequal Gains: Wealth concentrates in tech hubs while labour remains cheap elsewhere.