At a stakeholder forum organised by the Data Labelers Association (DLA) in partnership with KICTANet, Internews, and Siasa Place on July 31, 2025, Kenya’s invisible AI workforce finally stepped into the light.
The forum brought together civil society, academia, tech leaders, and users to confront the emotional and economic toll of digital labour.
A Code of Ethics Born from Experience
The forum unveiled two model tools for reform:
- DLA’s Voluntary Code of Conduct – a framework for ethical treatment of data labellers and content moderators.
- Model Contract for Digital Workers – promoting transparency, fair compensation, and psychological safety across platforms and Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs).
As winners of the KICTANet KenSafeSpace Policy Hackathon, DLA continues to amplify worker voices while pushing for mental health support and career growth in an industry often built on silence.
Stories From the Shadows
In a moving storytelling segment moderated by Angela Chukunzira of Project Ether, digital workers shared raw, unfiltered testimonies:
“Behind AI, there are people. Calling it ‘artificial’ can be misleading — human labour fuels these systems,” Michael Geoffrey Asia, DLA Secretary-General disclosed.
Angela framed the session with cultural resonance:
“Storytelling from an African perspective is very close to our hearts… It’s oral tradition now shaping global workers’ rights.”
The panel featured voices like:
- Kauna Malgwi, a clinical psychologist and ex-content moderator, who urged for trauma-informed mental health policies, said, “Employers must disclose job content. It’s not ethical to drop workers into trauma zones unprepared.”
- Naftali Andati Wambalo, translator and moderator, “I’m proud to speak for the voiceless… this isn’t just about today—it’s about dignity for the future.”
- ChiChi Mawlu, aviation professional turned annotator, “AI is powered by people like me—this isn’t a fallback job. It’s a profession.”
These stories reframed AI development as deeply human work, plagued by precarity and invisibility.
Survey Data: The Reality Behind the Innovation
Presented by researchers Beth Gutelius and Nik Theodore, the survey revealed:
- Over 50% of platform workers completed unpaid tasks.
- 69% couldn’t afford housing; 59% lacked funds for healthcare.
- Only 26% of platform workers had contracts, with most misunderstanding their terms.
- Mental health distress affected 27%, with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety common among moderators.
“Despite contributing to cutting-edge tech, their economic conditions are dire. We must centre these workers in digital transformation,” Beth Gutelius emphasises.
Reclaiming the Value of Labour
Martijn Arets of the WageIndicator Foundation introduced the concept of living tariffs for self-employed digital workers, factoring in:
- Equipment and internet costs
- Tax and social security obligations
- Unpaid overhead like admin and training
Arets argued that, “Labour protections exist—but enforcement lags. This isn’t a tech novelty. It’s work, and it deserves dignity.”
Mental Health and the Loop of Burnout
Testimonies revealed chronic emotional fallout:
- Panic attacks, nightmares, and isolation were common.
- Cultural stigma worsened trauma, with workers fearing judgment or hospitalisation.
Kauna emphasised, “Mental health isn’t weakness. It’s survival. We must normalise seeking help—not whisper about pain.”
Recovery, many said, begins with breaking the silence and creating safe, stigma-free work cultures:
“You pretend through the shift, but you carry the trauma home. Let’s stop pretending. Let’s make it safe to say, ‘I’m struggling.’”
Through consensus, it was acknowledged that Kenya’s digital labour force is rewriting AI’s origin story—not in code, but in courage. From wages to wellness, they’re demanding that transformation starts with recognition, reform, and respect.