Skip to main content

Adrienne Williams

4 results

Painting of two knowledge workers, running inside a wheel embedded within a computer mouse, struggling to keep pace as a powerful hand (representing employers or capitalistic forces).The image reveals that despite AI and digital adoption, rising productivity expectations often trap workers into producing more with less. Rather than easing labour, AI technologies risks raising the baseline demands, accelerating the pace of work under the illusion of progress. This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.o

AI-fueled inequities

AI is fueled by the artists, writers and “zombie trainers” (see below) supplying training and evaluation data without consent or compensation. Vulnerable populations like refugees and gig workers are hired as data workers under exploitative working conditions (see Data Workers Inquiry). These same vulnerable populations are also the first to experience the harms of AI systems, whether it is through automated weapons or surveillance systems (see Surveillance Watch). This page has more of our research on the inequities fueled by AI systems.

Image: Leo Lau & Digit / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Illustration of a Black person with a curly afro hairstyle. They have their outstretched, palms open, and a book sits suspended over their head, with swirling lines of text circling the person. Around them are several children with various skin tones, all smiling. The background is a deep purple color with tiny icons of different educational topics: music, space, art, writing.
Possible Futures
Blog

A Future of Thriving Students and Teachers

This future is one of possibility and joy, where technology enables teachers and students to flourish together. By imagining and building systems that prioritize people over processes, we can create an education system that inspires every child to reach their fullest potential.

An illustraion with a bunch of concentric circles and semi circles in black. The background is white. Exploited workers
Data Workers
Human Rights

Exploited workers fueling AI

Showing the extent to which vulnerable populations like refugees are both exploited laborers fueling “AI” systems and those most harmed by them. Read our papers and articles to learn more.

Screenshot of a slide with a green background. Surveillance Wage Theft written on the side, and with text 1) Stand-Up Meetings $2,500-$2,600 2. Mentor App $1,875-$7,800, 3. AI Powered Cameras
Data Workers
Labor

Worker surveillance and wage theft

Focusing on how algorithmic management and workplace surveillance allows corporations like Amazon to steal wages, intensify poor working conditions, and evade responsibility.