DiPLab researcher and Polytechnique doctoral candidate Thomas Le Bonniec recently appeared on Clément Durand’s podcast “Les Dessous de l’IA” to discuss the invisible workforce behind AI systems.
While AI is often portrayed as fully automated, it actually depends heavily on millions of human workers who sort, annotate, and classify data—often under precarious conditions. Thomas highlights this overlooked topic that’s crucial for developing technologies that don’t exacerbate social inequalities. The interview explores who these workers are, why their essential contributions remain invisible, and the ethical challenges of outsourcing this fundamental labor. The episode is available in French.
