A group of about 100 Kenyan tech workers has written a letter to President Biden ahead of the Kenyan State Dinner at the White House on Thursday, calling for an end to “modern slavery” in the country's tech sector. Appealed.
The letter's authors work as data labellers, content moderators and artificial intelligence (AI) practitioners at US companies including Facebook's Meta, ScaleAI and OpenAI.
“US Big Tech companies systematically abuse and exploit African workers. In Kenya, these US companies are violating local labour laws and the country's judicial system, and violating international labour standards,” they wrote in the letter.
“Our working conditions amount to modern-day slavery. Any trade-related discussions between the United States and Kenya must take these human rights violations into account and ensure that all workers' rights are protected,” the letter continued.
At the state dinner, Kenyan President William Ruto and his wife Rachel Ruto will celebrate 60 years of “partnership” between the United States and Kenya.
Technology workers noted that Biden and Ruto are expected to discuss trade, investment and innovation between the two countries.
They called on the Biden administration to commit to working with employees of Kenya's top tech companies and ensure that any future partnerships include provisions to ensure U.S. companies comply with international labor rules.
They want companies that violate international labor rules to face “robust enforcement mechanisms and meaningful penalties.”
“We do this work at great sacrifice to our health, our lives and our families. US tech giants are exporting the toughest and most dangerous jobs overseas. This work is mentally and emotionally draining,” they said.
The work involves screening social media platforms to ensure they are not “inundated” with hate speech and violence, labeling images and training the AI ​​on viewing of murder, beheading, child abuse, rape, pornography, bestiality, etc. The work is being done for less than $2 an hour, they write.
“Without our jobs, these platforms would be unavailable and companies like Meta would lose billions of dollars overnight, yet we make only a fraction of the wages of American workers,” the letter said.
“We should not have to sacrifice our health, well-being, and sadly in some cases our lives, for the profits of Big Tech. We urge you to take action and to carefully consider our demands in this and subsequent discussions,” the letter concludes.
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