The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is often celebrated as a triumph of innovation, efficiency, and progress. Beneath this narrative, however, lies a labor system increasingly associated with forms of modern-day exploitation.

As demand for AI systems has grown, so too has the need for large-scale data labeling, content moderation, and model training. Much of this work is outsourced through multiple layers of subcontractors to workers in regions such as East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. These workers are rarely employed directly by major technology companies; instead, they are hired through third-party firms, a structure that obscures accountability and weakens effective oversight.

This arrangement allows companies to distance themselves from labor conditions while maintaining access to a flexible, low-cost workforce. Workers have reported wages far below a living wage, exposure to psychologically distressing material, and strict productivity quotas enforced under the constant threat of dismissal. In some cases, individuals responsible for filtering violent or explicit content have described lasting psychological harm with little to no institutional support.

The organization of the AI industry itself plays a central role in enabling these conditions. Machine learning systems rely on vast quantities of labeled data, often produced under tight deadlines and intense cost pressures. Labor is frequently outsourced to temporary agencies operating on thin margins, creating incentives for wage suppression, excessive working hours, and inadequate working conditions.

Importantly, exploitation in this context does not depend on physical confinement. When labor is fragmented across borders and hidden within complex supply chains, responsibility becomes diffuse and abuses are more easily normalized. AI development demonstrates how even the most advanced and celebrated industries can reproduce forms of modern slavery when efficiency and scalability are prioritized over human dignity.

황동원 강남포스트 학생기자  webmaster@ignnews.kr

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