Scale AI apparently closed subsidiary Remotask’s doors abruptly on a large number of gig workers. Credit: SmileStudioAP Scale AI, the data processing company that advertises itself as a way to train generative AI on higher-quality information, has apparently shut down access to its platform in several countries, leaving gig workers in the lurch. The company, which does much of its data processing through a subsidiary called Remotasks, cut access to its portal for workers in Nigeria, Kenya and Pakistan in March, according to a report by Rest of World. The gig workers used by Remotask, and by extension Scale, improve data quality by adding labels, annotations, and general human input to information set to be processed by AIs. The idea is to help AI tools learn by shaping their perceptions of, say, lidar data from cars or other information. According to Rest of World’s report, workers — many of whom rely on Remotasks for their main income — were greeted by a message saying that “we regret to inform you that at the moment we are unable to provide service in your location.” The report also notes that remote workers “often have few reliable ways to contact supervisors or escalate complaints,” despite the presence of hotlines and Slack channels. Scale released a statement in September detailing its relationship with Remotasks, which it calls the “data annotation” side of its business. The company said it partners with the Global Living Wage Coalition and conducts quarterly pay analyses to “ensure fair and competitive compensation” for the gig workers annotating its data. Scale also criticized “misunderstandings and mischaracterizations” about the way it treats its workers through Remotasks. Scale could not be reached for comment on Rest of World’s report, which said that many of the workers affected by the apparent shutdown only found out about it when they attempted to log in and work. According to Rest of World, a company spokesperson blamed the lack of communication with workers on an administrative error, while saying that the shutdowns were put in place for “enhanced security protocols.” In addition to the shutdowns in Pakistan, Nigeria and Kenya, Rest of World reported that new signups for Remotask work had been blocked in several other countries, including Thailand, India, Poland and Vietnam. Rest of World’s report ran a day after The Information reported that Scale — which has been one of the AI industry’s early success stories — was up for a new round of funding, courtesy of VC firm Accel, which was an early investor in Scale. The proposed funding round would raise the company’s value to $13 billion, a rise of 80%. The company joins several other big names in the generative AI industry, including AI-powered robot creators Figure AI, LLM creator Anthropic, and market powerhouse OpenAI in lining up hundreds of millions in new funding from investors desperate to capitalize on the much-hyped technology, according to a report from siliconAngle. Related content feature What Capgemini software chief learned about AI-generated code: highly usable, 'too many unknowns' for production While most of Capgemini's clients are reticent to use AI-generated code in production, the technology has led to big efficiency and productivity increases that developers and engineers might not yet realize, says Jiani Zhang, the company's By Lucas Mearian Apr 30, 2024 21 mins Developer Engineer Generative AI news analysis The EU has decided to open up iPadOS 'Our market investigation showed that despite not meeting the thresholds, iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers,' said the EU’s lead anti-competition regulator, Margrethe Vestige By Jonny Evans Apr 29, 2024 4 mins Apple Apple App Store iPad how-to A new Windows 11 backup and recovery paradigm? If used properly, new features built into Windows 11 offer safe, nearly complete backup, restore, repair, and recovery operations without third-party tools — but there are some caveats worth knowing. By Ed Tittel Apr 29, 2024 17 mins Windows 11 Backup and Recovery Windows feature Q&A: Georgia Tech dean details why the school needed a new AI supercomputer Georgia Tech partnered with Nvidia to roll out its first supercomputer so students can experiment with AI and machine learning to better prepare for a job market where those skills are now critical to success. By Lucas Mearian Apr 29, 2024 12 mins CPUs and Processors Education Industry Generative AI Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe