Kenyan content moderators accuse OpenAI and Sama of exploitation in ChatGPT development(original, opens in a new tab)
A group of Kenyan content moderators involved in ChatGPT development accuse OpenAI and its local outsourcing partner Sama of exploiting and underpaying them, and have petitioned the Kenyan government to regulate tech companies. According to the petition and court documents, in 2021 OpenAI partnered with Sama to outsource the workforce that trained and optimized ChatGPT. Four people representing the moderators said the contracts did not adequately describe the nature of the work, and that in practice they were assigned to long-term review of harmful content such as violence and sexual violence. They said they received no psychological support during their work, developed physical and mental health problems including PTSD, paranoia, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction, and were repatriated after their contracts ended. The petition asks the National Assembly's Public Petitions Committee to investigate working conditions at companies such as Sama, and mentions tech companies that outsource content moderation, including Meta, TikTok, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. They also call for amending the Employment Act and expanding the Occupational Health Act to recognize exposure to harmful content as an occupational hazard.