Hu Xiu·2025-09-15 00:10Group 1 - Elon Musk's xAI has laid off approximately 500 data annotators, which accounts for one-third of the team, as part of a strategic shift to focus on "expert mentors" instead of general annotators [6][10][12] - The layoffs were abrupt, with employees losing system access immediately and only receiving pay until the end of their contracts or November [12][15] - The company plans to recruit a team of "expert mentors" that is ten times larger than the current team of general annotators [3][6] Group 2 - Google's AI workers face high pressure and low wages, with many unaware that they would be reviewing violent and explicit content upon starting their jobs [16][18] - Tasks that were originally designed to take 30 minutes have been reduced to 15 minutes or less, requiring workers to process hundreds of responses daily [19][20] - The starting pay for AI evaluators in the U.S. is $16 per hour, which, while higher than that of annotators in Africa or South America, is still significantly lower than salaries for engineers in Silicon Valley [22][23] Group 3 - Ethical concerns are raised as speed is prioritized over safety in AI development, leading to potential failures in safety commitments when profits are at stake [30] - Workers report encountering increasingly absurd and dangerous AI-generated responses, highlighting the risks associated with rapid AI deployment [28][30] - The underlying labor force that supports AI development is often overlooked, raising questions about the dignity and treatment of these workers [31]