In 2027, life is portrayed as a utopia where virtual assistants like Sarah manage everything for us. However, this idyllic vision of the future is far from reality. Behind the scenes, the digital economy relies heavily on an invisible, underpaid workforce to keep its systems running.
Big tech companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Uber are often seen as paragons of automation, yet they depend on human labour to train their artificial intelligence (AI) systems and clean up their social networks. This invisible workforce, often referred to as “ghost workers,” is paid meagre wages and lacks job security. For instance, workers can earn as little as 10 cents an hour, far below the American minimum wage.
These ghost workers are engaged in tasks like training AI to recognise pedestrians for self-driving cars. Companies like Figure 8, founded by Lucas Biewald, employ contractors worldwide to perform these tasks. Biewald describes this as a “beautiful loop” where humans label data, and AI learns from it. However, this loop is far from beautiful for the workers involved. They log in, complete tasks, and get paid a pittance, often without any job security or benefits.
One such worker, Jared Mansfield, from Oregon, spends several hours a week training search engines for Figure 8, earning less than one cent per answer. Despite working for 30 minutes, he only made 15 cents, highlighting the exploitative nature of this work. Another worker, Dawn Carbone, a single mother from Maine, works eight hours a day on Figure 8, earning an average of $250 a month. She relies on this income to supplement her government aid, yet she acknowledges the unfairness of the pay.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has expressed concern over this growing trend of “microwork,” where tasks are broken down into small, repetitive jobs that are outsourced globally. Workers earn an average of $3.31 an hour without any rights or protections. This model benefits companies like Figure 8, allowing them to pay workers minimal amounts and dispose of them when they are no longer needed.
Even within the high-tech hubs of Silicon Valley, there is a stark disconnect between the elite and the workers who make their systems function. Lucas Biewald’s dismissive attitude towards his workers exemplifies this. When questioned about the low wages and working conditions, he became visibly uncomfortable and avoided answering directly.
Moreover, the role of content moderators, who clean up social networks like Facebook, is equally troubling. These workers are responsible for removing violent videos, hate speech, and other inappropriate content. Despite the traumatic nature of their work, they are often paid low wages and are bound by confidentiality clauses. Gregoire, one of our journalists, went undercover as a content moderator for Facebook in Lisbon, Portugal, earning just €462 gross per month. The job involved viewing horrific images and videos, leading to significant emotional distress.
Pedro, a former content moderator, described the numbing and traumatic experience of the role. He worked for six months, during which he witnessed countless disturbing images, leading to long-lasting psychological effects. Despite the availability of psychologists, the support provided was insufficient to address the trauma experienced by these workers.
Sarah Roberts, a leading researcher on content moderation, highlights the growing scale of this issue. With billions of posts shared daily on platforms like Facebook, the demand for content moderators has skyrocketed. Companies use subcontractors to distance themselves from the workers and their conditions, both geographically and morally. This allows them to disclaim responsibility for the harm caused to these workers.
In response to the growing concerns, three former moderators in the US have filed lawsuits against Facebook, claiming to be victims of post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite these legal actions, Facebook continues to assert that the wellbeing of its content moderators is a priority.
While the ghost workers remain in the shadows, the companies they work for continue to thrive. Lucas Biewald recently sold Figure 8 for $300 million, exemplifying the vast profits made at the expense of an invisible, exploited workforce. This stark reality behind the digital economy calls for urgent attention and reform to protect the rights and wellbeing of these essential yet overlooked workers.