Archive · 5 Sep 2025
Indigenous Wisdom and AI Clash in Human Labelling
Imagine someone who knows a lot about plants and animals.
This person works in a lab helping to label data for AI.
One day, she sees an image of a worm and knows it's not a pest, even though the instructions say it is.
The worm actually helps plants, but her boss tells her to follow the instructions anyway because their clients, a group of Americans, want it labelled a certain way.
The Americans are upset because of the incorrect labels and threaten to end their business with the lab if things don't improve.
This causes a clash between her knowledge and following instructions.
An indigenous woman is involved in labelling data for AI.
Her knowledge of the environment clashes with the AI labelling instructions.
She identifies a worm as beneficial, contradicting labelling guidelines.
Her manager, Alka, instructs her to follow client labeling preferences.
American clients reprimand Alka for labeling mistakes.
- Who
- An indigenous woman, her manager Alka, and American clients.
- What
- An indigenous woman is reprimanded for not labelling data correctly as instructed.
- When
- Not specified.
- Where
- A lab where AI data is labelled, and via Zoom calls.
- Why
- To satisfy the labelling preferences of American clients.
- Setting
- A lab where AI data is labeled.
- Core Conflict
- Clash between indigenous knowledge and AI labeling
- Key Characters
- An indigenous woman, her manager Alka, and American clients.