AI’s Human Helpers

India has undoubtedly grown into an important force in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. BPOs are the fastest growing segment in India’s Information Technology Enabled Services sector, credited to the easy availability of a large pool of skilled workforce. According to a NASSCOM study, the BPO sector in India achieved a 54 per cent growth in 2003-04, and created job opportunities for 74,000 personnel in the same year.

While BPOs are traditionally associated with low-tech services, the growing number of AI companies have driven BPOs across the globe to adapt and transform the services they provide. Leading BPOs now provide the human input for millions of images, videos, and audio files that act as the training data for machine learning algorithms.

However, usage of AI based technology has potential ethical and reputational challenges. Artificial intelligence technology that powers chatbots, for example, drives behavior from algorithms set by its human designers. Therefore, algorithms need to be trained and taught using data that refines performance, reduces bias, and continuously improves over time with human insights and user inputs.

As we look ahead, technology alone will not transform the world; human augmentation and intervention at key stages will be critical to artificial intelligence operations and management. Human beings will be the ones to design and augment technology that understands our perceptions, our emotions and our thoughts, and is effectively more human.

At IndiVillage, we try to leverage the power of technology and AI through a human-centric approach. Our impact sourcing model provides the platform for rural community members to work in 21st-century technology jobs. With growing demand for BPO services, the demand for workers who can train algorithms and power AI is increasing. IndiVillage provides support in all areas of training data, annotation, and web-based services. And our employees, who work each day to train and fine-tune algorithms in an ethical and sustainable manner, are the most vital part of our business.

IndiVillage is committed to ensuring a free and fair world for our employees and their communities. We create positive social impact by providing sustainable employment, a stable income and opportunities for professional skills development. The result is empowered individuals and families.