Kenyan AI workers have come together to form the Data Labelers Association (DLA) to advocate for fair pay, mental health support, and improved working conditions in the industry.
Tasked with training and maintaining AI systems for tech giants, data labellers and annotators have united under the DLA to address the systemic injustices they face at work. Within the first week of its launch, the organization already boasts 339 members.
Contrary to the common perception of AI as a self-learning entity, the technology heavily relies on human labor to carry out its functions. This labor, often referred to as ghost, micro, or click work, involves training and validating AI algorithms by distributing tasks to a global workforce.
Despite Kenya emerging as a key hub for AI-related work, data workers in the country are significantly underpaid, sometimes earning mere cents for tasks that consume hours of their time. The DLA has highlighted cases where workers received no payment for up to 20 hours of work.
The DLA president, Joan Kinyua, emphasized the vital role data workers play in advancing technology while being undervalued and unrecognized. Ephantus Kanyugi, the vice-president, pointed out the substantial investments workers make in education and equipment, only to receive minimal compensation for their efforts.
The workers power all these technological advancements, but they’re paid peanuts and not even recognized
Joan Kinyua, Data Labelers Association
The surplus labor pool in the sector allows employers to exploit workers, knowing they can easily replace discontented employees. Weak labor laws in Kenya further enable tech companies to take advantage of cheap outsourcing for data annotation tasks.
Data workers face uncertainty due to the absence of formal employment contracts, leading to unpredictable workloads and income. The lack of job security, healthcare benefits, and union representation adds to the challenges these workers encounter.
To address these issues, the DLA aims to provide mental health support, legal assistance for disputes, professional development opportunities, and advocacy campaigns. Collaborating with other organizations, the DLA seeks to negotiate collective agreements with data companies and tech firms to improve conditions for data workers.
The association is engaging with African Content Moderators Union, Turkopticon, and Distributed AI Research Institute to advocate for better working conditions. Efforts are underway to engage with Kenyan policymakers and the Ministry of ICT to enhance the understanding of platform workers’ needs and improve their working conditions.
