Many digital technologies, especially AI-driven products, require vast amounts of data to enable them to function properly. More often than not, that data is generated by a huge and largely invisible global labor force comprised of millions of workers — sometimes referred to as “ghost workers” — who toil at highly stressful, low-wage, precarious work labeling data or moderating unseemly or harmful content. Many in less developed economies earn as little as $2 per hour.

Data workers are generally independent contractors of third-party subcontractors known as  business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, or they perform work on digital labor or “crowdwork” platforms. A BPO is a company with independent contractors, who work in an office with a traditional hierarchy and managerial structure. However, on a “crowdwork” digital labor platform, work (usually in the form of “microtasks”) can be completed remotely, anywhere in the world, using a computer and internet connection.  

Given the precarious working conditions faced by data workers, who label and annotate data and moderate content, investors have a responsibility to engage the companies in their portfolio to respect human rights, including labor rights.  ICCR has drafted investor letters to the following companies and seek your support in engaging:  

Accenture
Alphabet
Amazon/Mechanical Turk
Appen
ByteDance (private)
Concentrix/Webhelp
Genpact
Meta
Microsoft
OpenAI (private)
Sama (private)
Scale AI (private)
Teleperformance/Majorel
Telus