The Time Magazine article “The Workers Behind AI Rarely See Its Rewards, This Indian Startup Wants to Fix That” by Billy Perrigo explores the lives of data workers in India and Karya, an Indian AI data startup. The startup captures, labels, and annotates data for clients and offers economic opportunities to rural Indians by using voice recordings in their native languages to train AI systems.
Karya offers higher hourly wages for data workers and potential benefits for marginalized languages, enabling access to AI advancements. The startup focuses on social impact, addressing biases and ethical issues in the AI industry while providing tangible benefits to underprivileged communities in India.
Karya collaborates with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure that its job opportunities are first accessible to the most economically disadvantaged, including historically marginalized communities. Karya empowers workers by granting them virtual ownership of their data generated during tasks, enabling them to earn additional income when resold. This unique model empowers underprivileged communities in India by advancing inclusive AI systems.
