Tech’s shadow workforce sidelined, leaving social media to the machines

Facebook has about 15,000 contract workers policing its platform. While full-time employees log on remotely, the company won’t let contractors who filter disturbing content work from home, citing privacy concerns and legal considerations. — AFP

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the sprawling networks of contract workers who keep social-media services running smoothly. Software is picking up the slack, but Facebook Inc and YouTube are already warning there’ll be less content moderation and slower customer support.

While tech platforms believe artificial intelligence software will ultimately reduce the need for human oversight, many experts think the technology is not yet ready to take on nuanced decision-making required for tasks like content moderation. "Now it's going to be really obvious to everyone how poorly they actually work,” said Hannah Bloch-Wehba, a law professor at Drexel University who studies Internet governance.