Artificial intelligence companies in Kerala, India, are hiring women to label the data used to train AI systems, creating jobs outside the country’s main technology hubs.
Roshni M took up the work after her father died, to help support her family. She is one of hundreds of employees at Infolks, a Kerala-based company founded by Mujeeb Kolasseri in 2016.
Data annotation means labelling images and other information so machines can learn to identify objects. A self-driving vehicle, for example, needs examples of roads, vehicles and pedestrians.
“I feel like an individual. I’m earning now, I’m self-dependent, and I have freedom,” Roshni said.
She said attitudes towards women’s education and work have changed compared with her mother’s generation.
Opportunities and working conditions remain limited for some rural women. Workers with few other options may be reluctant to raise concerns about pay or conditions for fear of losing their jobs.
The trend shows how the global demand for AI training data is reaching smaller towns in South Asia.