Gig workers in Africa had no idea they were helping the U.S. military
16 hours ago
- #Military Surveillance
- #Gig Economy
- #AI Ethics
- US spy plane Rivet Joint conducted surveillance near Venezuela before a mission to capture President Maduro.
- Appen, an Australian tech company, provided AI training data to a secretive US military unit, Big Safari, for Rivet Joint's tech systems.
- Appen employs a million gig workers globally, many unaware they may be contributing to US military projects.
- Appen has worked with US military agencies on contracts worth $17 million from 2005 to 2020, including $145,000 for Rivet Joint-related work.
- Workers were not informed about the military use of their data, raising ethical concerns.
- Appen's data has been used in military projects like the 'tactical language interpreter' for aerial warfare applications.
- Rivet Joint spy planes, updated by Big Safari, play a key role in US and UK surveillance operations globally.
- Somali gig workers in Kenya, including refugees, contributed to military-related transcription projects without knowing the end use.
- Lack of transparency in gig work platforms leaves workers unaware if their data supports military or private sector clients.
- Calls for greater transparency in the AI training data industry to address ethical and moral concerns.