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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Taylor

Precarious conditions of AI ‘ghost workers’ revealed by Google termination of Appen contract, union says

Google Appen Alphabet Wired
Google logo on top of a building
The Appen workers who improve AI systems and label data used by companies like Google have been called ‘ghost workers’ for the unseen nature of their labour. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/EPA

Google has ended a multimillion-dollar contract with an Australian company that helps train artificial intelligence using contractors across the globe, in a move the union said reveals the precarious employment conditions of the unseen “ghost workers” who train artificial intelligence tools.

Appen told the Australian Stock Exchange on Monday that Google notified it on Saturday that it would be terminating its contact with Appen as of 19 March 2024 as part of a strategic review process.

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