The Humans Behind AI
Artificial intelligence is more than 1s and 0s. Every answer or action you get from your Amazon Alexa exists because thousands of humans have been working to build and maintain the technology. Researchers Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler have been working to literally map the vast resources required to make modern AI possible, from miners and assemblers to engineers, programmers and data scientists.
Their report includes not only the incredibly detailed infographic, but also a series of 21 essays discussing the product’s existence “across three stages of birth, life, and death”. It covers the various elements involved in the physical creation of the device and the many types of minds behind the development of the interface. Much of the report is focussed on the development of AI throughout history and the human cost of modern technology.