The Human Cost
Every AI product depends on invisible human labor. From data collection to content moderation, here is the supply chain most companies won't show you.
The Supply Chain Behind Your Prompt
Scraped from the internet, often without consent. Common Crawl, Wikipedia, Reddit, books, news articles, and personal websites are harvested at scale.
Workers in Venezuela, Kenya, and the Philippines earning $1.32-$2/hr label millions of data points. Venezuela's economic collapse created a captive workforce for platforms like Appen and Scale AI.
Content moderators in Nairobi reviewed graphic content including child abuse, murder, and self-harm to make ChatGPT safer. Workers earned less than $2/hour and report lasting psychological trauma.
Continuous human review keeps AI systems from generating harmful content. This work is ongoing and often invisible.
A human cost has already been paid.
Ask Your AI Provider
Questions for procurement teams evaluating AI vendors.
Organizations Working on This
Rates digital labor platforms on fair pay, conditions, contracts, management, and representation.
Labor Rights339 members organizing for better wages and conditions in AI data labeling.
Civil RightsFounded by Joy Buolamwini. Raises awareness about AI harms and advocates for equitable technology.
Civil RightsFounded by Timnit Gebru. Community-rooted AI research challenging power concentration in AI.
Civil RightsDefending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation through impact litigation and advocacy.
Civil RightsDefending digital rights of people and communities at risk globally.
Civil RightsAlgorithmic Accountability Toolkit and investigations into tech-enabled human rights abuses.
Disclaimer
Assessments reflect publicly available information and the published methodology of the Behind the AI Research Team. Grades represent analytical assessments derived from the published scoring framework, not statements of fact about internal company operations. If you believe any claim is inaccurate, contact corrections@behindtheai.org with the specific claim and your evidence.