Antonio Casilli, professor and researcher at DiPLab, appeared in a recent episode of Le Iene, Italy’s well-known investigative television program, as part of an in-depth report on the working conditions of people who train artificial intelligence systems in Nairobi, Kenya. No Caption No Caption No Caption No Caption The report focuses on the human infrastructure behind AI technologies: men and women who label data, moderate content, and refine algorithms, often working for major multinational companies under precarious conditions. Casilli contributed his analysis to help contextualize this hidden economy and explain the structural dynamics that shape it. A significant part of the investigation takes place in Nairobi, Kenya, where many of these tasks are outsourced. The report documents how local workers are employed to train algorithms for low pay, performing repetitive and psychologically demanding work that makes AI systems appear more “intelligent.” Through on-the-ground reporting and interviews, journalist Nicola Barraco examines the economic and human costs embedded in today’s AI supply chains. Casilli’s intervention situates these testimonies within a broader critique of the global AI industry. The segment underscores a central question: as artificial intelligence becomes more powerful and profitable, who bears the real cost of its development? By bringing visibility to this hidden labor, Le Iene contributes to a growing international debate on ethics, accountability, and working conditions in the AI economy.

DiPLab, as one of the co-organizers of INDL-8 (the 8th annual conference of the International Network on Digital Labor), has allocated 11 scholarships to support travel, accommodation, and meals of promising speakers. The theme of this year’s conference is “Contesting Digital Labor: Resistance, Counter-uses, and New Directions in Research”. The recipients represent a global cohort of emerging scholars whose research touches upon the social and economic impacts of digital labor worldwide. The studies they will be presenting at INDL-8 span diverse topics and geographic contexts—from AI work in Romania, to gig work in India and Brazil, to freelance work in Argentina. They will be addressing critical issues like algorithmic management, gender dynamics, and health impacts. Here is the final list of our recipients: * Gonzague Isirabahenda (Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai [Cluj-Napoca], Romania) for the paper Reconsidering the implementation of Artificial intelligence in call centre jobs: Ethnographic study * Mariana Fernández Massi (CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas [Buenos Aires], Argentina) for the paper Algorithmic management and labour control on freelance platforms (in collaboration with Julieta Longo)   * James Oyange (African Content Moderators Union [Nairobi], Kenya), for the paper Empowering AI’s Invisible Workforce: Advancing Transparency and Data Protection for Data Workers. * Ethan Chiu (Yale University [New Haven], USA), for the paper The Human Circuit: A Comparative Study of the Semiconductor Industry’s Labor Conditions in the US and Taiwan * Debarun Narayan Dutta (Hertie School of Governance [Berlin], Germany) for the paper Orchestrating Mobility – How Immigration Agencies, Universities, and Platform Companies Construct the Migration and Labor Pathways of Indian Food Delivery Workers in Berlin * Dipsita Dhar (Centre for Studies of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University [New Delhi], India), for the paper From Riders to Influencers: The “Gigfluencer” Phenomenon in Ridesourcing DLPs (in collaboration with Ashique Ali Thuppilikkat) * Neha Gupta (Tata Institute of Social Sciences [Mumbai], India), for the paper Motherhood at the margins: ASHAs and the digital labour of antenatal care work * Søren Bøgh Sørensen (Copenhagen Business School [Copenhagen], Denmark), for the paper The Humans Behind the Filter: Uncovering the Costs and Consequences of Content Moderators in Kenya (in collaboration with Ephantus Kanyugi) * Amanda Biazzi (Universidade Estadual de Maringá [Maringá], Brazil), for the paper Technostress and the Health Related Risks on Content Production of Self-Employed Professionals: A Study with Brazilian Psychologists * Kanikka Sersia (Graduate Institute of International and Development studies [Geneva], Switzerland), for her paper Algorithms and the politics of production in the platform economy * Subhashri Sarkar (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research [Mohali], India), for the paper Precarity in Motion: Gendered Experiences in India’s Ride-Hailing Platform Work Please join us at the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna (Aula Magna, Santa Cristina venue), on September 10, 9am to meet our recipients at the scholarship ceremony during the opening session of the INDL-8 conference.

Italy’s national broadcaster Rai 1 has shined a light on a crucial but often overlooked aspect of artificial intelligence in their program “Codice.” Their recent report reveals the essential truth: AI is built on real human work. As you might expect, this report bears the fingerprints of our team at DiPLab Rai 1, with DiPLab’s co-founder Antonio Casilli being interviewed among the experts of AI supply chains.