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Who are the people behind the scenes in AI? 'Taskers' could be your kids, students and neighbors, and they are being worn down for little pay and no security from the third party companies and subcontractors who hire them, while AI firms benefit from the work they perform.

Irina Raicu, director of internet ethics, addresses the need to recognize the hundreds of thousands of people around the world performing a kind of piecework in training and fine-tuning AI models. She says without their labor, these AI products or services would not exist.

Raicu says there is an increase in calls for regulation of various aspects of AI, conversations about “AI governance,” and many programs, in universities and other organizations, focusing on “responsible AI.”

"Any such programs should address the role of taskers, and the need for protection of human dignity and the dignity of labor," Raicu writes.

Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, published by Mercury News.