A new report documents the precarious working conditions of U.S.-based data workers within the global AI supply chain, produced by Alphabet Workers Union-CWA Local 9009 in partnership with TechEquity and the Communication Workers of America. U.S. data workers are essential to the development of tools and models developed by big tech companies but are employed by complex webs of contractors. Combining data from a survey of 160 data workers with insights from 15 in-depth interviews, the report finds that the poor working conditions seen in the Global South are also widespread in data work in the U.S.

The report, Ghost Workers in the AI Machine: US Data Workers Speak Out About Big Tech’s Exploitation, identifies four broad themes that should concern policymakers:

1. Workers struggle to make ends meet. Eighty-six percent of surveyed workers worry about meeting their financial responsibilities and 25% of respondents rely on public assistance, primarily food assistance and Medicaid. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (66%) report spending at least three hours weekly sitting at their computers waiting for tasks to be available, and 26% report spending more than eight hours waiting for tasks. Only 30% of respondents reported that they are paid for the time when no tasks are available. Workers reported a median hourly wage of $15 and work a median workweek of 29 hours of paid time, which equates to annual earnings of $22,620.
2. Workers perform critical skilled work but are increasingly hamstrung by lack of control over the work process which results in lower work output and, in turn, higher-risk AI systems. More than half of the workers who are assigned an average estimated time (AET) to complete a task felt that AETs are often not long enough to complete the task accurately. 87% of respondents report they are regularly assigned tasks for which they are not adequately trained.
3. With limited or no access to mental health benefits, workers are unable to safeguard themselves even as they act as a first line of defense, protecting millions of people from harmful content and imperfect AI systems. Only 23% of surveyed workers are covered by health insurance from their employer.
4. Deeply involved in every aspect of building AI systems, workers recognize the wide range of risks that these systems pose to themselves and to society at large. Fifty-two percent of surveyed workers believe they are training AI to replace other workers’ jobs and 36% believe they are training AI to replace their own jobs. 74% were concerned about AI’s contribution to the spread of disinformation, 54% concerned about surveillance, and 47% concerned about the use of AI to suppress free speech, among other issues.

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These findings, which suggest that U.S.-based data workers face similar working conditions as data workers in the Global South, challenge the mainstream understanding of the global AI supply chain. Rather than a supply chain where low-wage work is offshored to countries with lax labor standards while high-wage work flourishes in the U.S., the AI industry is driving a race to the bottom for workers across industrialized and developing countries alike.

“This report confirms what Alphabet Workers Union members have been telling us for years: Big Tech companies like Google exploit the very workers who contribute to these companies’ flagship AI products. While Big Tech rakes in the profits from the AI boom, workers are struggling to make ends meet. We firmly believe that the solution to this organized greed is organized labor. Our union calls on data workers to join the fight to create a tech industry in which the workers behind the products have a real say over our working conditions,” said Parul Koul, President of the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA Local 9009.

“Worker exploitation in tech isn’t a new issue. Our past research found that contract workers are treated differently than directly-employed workers across the board, from pay to benefits to career mobility to job security. What has changed due to the rise of AI is the scale at which technology fragments and obscures work and its conditions. Layers upon layers of outsourcing workers enable tech companies to try to outsource their liability. Our partnership with AWU CWA helps bring US data workers’ experiences to the forefront, shedding light on an AI supply chain that is undermining workers,” said Catherine Bracy, Founder and CEO of TechEquity.

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Alphabet Workers Union-CWA Local 9009 is a union of Alphabet workers in the U.S. and Canada, including full-time employees, temps, vendors, and contractors. For more information, please visit our website at www.alphabetworkersunion.org; Twitter: @alphabetworkers; Facebook: AlphabetWorkers; Bluesky: alphabetworkersunion.org; LinkedIn: Alphabet Workers Union; Instagram:@alphabetworkers

TechEquity raises public consciousness about economic equity issues that result from the tech industry’s products and practices, and advocates for change that ensures tech’s evolution benefits everyone. The organization conducts original research grounded in the stories of the people impacted by inequitable systems, develops policy and industry recommendations, and focuses on the implementation of policies and industry standards to ensure meaningful impact for generations to come. Learn more at techequity.us.

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