Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dubai has been featured in Tech Revolt through an expert article by Dr. Balamurugan Balusamy, Chairperson and Professor, School of Engineering and IT, MAHE Dubai, titled “What Is the Hidden Workforce Behind AI Systems? Ghost Workers, Data Labelers, and Ethical Gaps Explained.” The article explores the often-overlooked human effort that powers today’s artificial intelligence systems.
In the article, Dr. Balamurugan explains that while AI systems appear seamless and autonomous, they depend heavily on large volumes of human-generated, labelled, filtered, and refined data. This human intervention is especially critical in areas such as robotics, autonomous systems, digital twins, healthcare, and large-scale machine learning applications.
The feature highlights the role of the “ghost workforce” - gig workers and data labelers who perform essential tasks such as image labelling, data annotation, content moderation, and supervised model training. Their work quietly supports the AI tools used across industries, yet their contribution often remains invisible in mainstream conversations around innovation.
Dr. Balamurugan also draws attention to the ethical challenges emerging with the growth of large language models, including concerns around data ownership, consent, copyright, transparency, and the use of human-created content for AI training. The article further discusses the difficult working conditions faced by many data workers, including low wages, high monitoring, tight deadlines, and psychological stress in content moderation roles.
The article calls for a more responsible approach to AI development - one that prioritises transparency, fairness, data governance, ethical labour practices, and recognition of the human contribution behind intelligent systems. It reinforces the need for AI to be evaluated not only by technical performance, but also by the values and systems that shape its development.
This feature reflects MAHE Dubai’s growing thought leadership in artificial intelligence, ethical technology, engineering, and future-ready education. Through expert contributions such as this, the university continues to engage with important global conversations on how emerging technologies can be developed responsibly and with greater human accountability.
Click here to read more: https://techrevolt.news/articles/exclusive-what-is-the-hidden-workforce-behind-ai-systems-ghost-workers-data-labelers-and-ethical-gaps-explained
