Time Magazine’s article, “The Workers Behind AI Rarely See Its Rewards, This Indian Startup Wants to Fix That,” highlights the struggles of data workers in India and Karya, an AI data startup. The startup captures, labels, and annotates data for clients, providing economic opportunities to rural Indians through voice recordings in their native languages.
Karya boosts data workers’ wages, benefits marginalized languages, and tackles biases in AI, focusing on social impact and underprivileged communities in India.Chandrika, a 30-year-old woman in Alahalli and Chilukavadi, earned 2,570 rupees ($31.30) by dedicating six hours of work in late April. The app, Karya, allows her to earn an hourly wage of about $5, nearly 20 times the Indian minimum wage.
Kanakaraj S., a 21-year-old, works casually in fields to cover expenses, earning 350 rupees. Karya collaborates with local NGOs to make job opportunities accessible to economically disadvantaged communities. The app empowers workers by granting them virtual ownership of their data generated during tasks, enabling them to earn additional income when resold. This unique model aims to empower underprivileged communities by advancing inclusive AI systems in India.
