EVERYTHING
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has brought unprecedented technological leaps, yet this progress is increasingly scrutinized for its ethical costs. According to Ncregister, Pope Leo XIV’s new papal encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, vividly highlights what the Vatican describes as “new forms of slavery” facilitated by AI systems. The Pope emphasizes that the benefits derived from enhanced efficiency cannot be celebrated if they are built on a chain of exploitation that remains deliberately hidden.
The Global Labor Chains Powering AI
This hidden labor extends beyond the digital realm and into raw material extraction. Catholic theologian Léocadie Lushombo, who works in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has witnessed children and women involved in cobalt and nickel mines. These workers perform backbreaking, largely invisible labor to supply the elements necessary for the chips that enable countless modern technologies, including AI systems.
However, a different kind of exploited worker is often less visible: human data labelers. Thousands of these individuals toil globally to “train” AI models. This diffuse and hidden high-tech work—often termed “data enrichment”—constitutes a nearly $4-billion industry. These workers frequently face extremely low wages, sometimes paid between $1.50 and $2 an hour.
- Workers often endure 20-hour shifts under difficult conditions.
- They are subjected to disturbing footage, including images of child sex abuse, bestiality, and suicide.
- Many are pushed into data labeling due to limited alternative employment options in their home countries.
The Human Cost of Digital Sweatshops
The severity of these working environments was highlighted by Naftali Wambalo, a Kenyan father who took a low-paying job as a data labeler. In late 2024, he shared his experience with 60 Minutes, detailing the requirement to watch highly disturbing imagery. Like many in this sector, workers are often relatively well-educated and tech-savvy but lack adequate mental health support despite their daily exposure to traumatic content.
Lushombo praised Pope Leo for shedding light on how the world’s appetite for AI is hurting many of the world’s poor, pushing them into a new kind of servitude. The encyclical concludes with a powerful reminder: “Nothing in the world of AI is immaterial or magical,” Pope Leo wrote. “Every seemingly immediate and flawless response is the result of a long chain of mediation, involving vast networks.”
The papal call serves as an urgent challenge to the tech industry, demanding greater transparency regarding the human cost embedded within the digital products consumers use daily.