A new investigation by Time Magazine claims OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research firm, paid Kenyan workers less than $2 to make its ChatGPT chatbot less toxic.
The workers were tasked to help build a filter system that would make ChatGPT suitable for everyday use, Time reported.
They were forced to read graphic detail like child sexual abuse, bestiality, murder, suicide, torture, self harm, and incest.
Their working conditions and pay are considered exploitative even as their work contributes to billion-dollar industries.
OpenAI outsourcing partner in Kenya was Sama, a San Francisco-based company that counts Google, Microsoft, Salesforce and Yahoo among its clients.
The Kenyan workers employed by Sama on behalf of OpenAI were paid a take-home wage of between around $1.32 and $2 per hour depending on seniority and performance, Time reported.
A spokesperson for Sama is quoted by Times as saying that employees were entitled to both individual and group sessions with professionally-trained and licensed mental health therapists.
Sama cancelled all its work for OpenAI in February 2022.
