Prisoners become teachers for artificial intelligence.
A woman in a Finnish prison spends three-hour shifts reading texts about real estate on a laptop and answering questions. She gets €1.54 per hour for this. The work may seem monotonous, but it plays a key role in training artificial intelligence for the Finnish startup Metroc.
Metroc has developed a search engine for construction companies that helps you find new construction projects. To do this, the startup needs people to help the model understand information from news articles and municipal documents. It was here that the services of prisoners came in handy.
This type of work is usually done by Clickworkers from low-wage countries. However, it was important for Metroc that employees speak Finnish. Therefore, the company decided to use the labor of prisoners.
This approach was widely supported in Finland. However, some consider it innovative and useful for the rehabilitation of prisoners, while others see the project as a potential exploitation, in particular, such activities may set a precedent for the use of prisoners in other countries where conditions may be less humane.
However, for many prisoners, such work represents an opportunity to earn money and feel useful. The woman herself says that, although the salary is small, it is better than just sitting in a cell. Many hope that this approach will help prisoners acquire skills that will be useful to them after their release. However, it remains to be seen if this will actually be the case.
A woman in a Finnish prison spends three-hour shifts reading texts about real estate on a laptop and answering questions. She gets €1.54 per hour for this. The work may seem monotonous, but it plays a key role in training artificial intelligence for the Finnish startup Metroc.
Metroc has developed a search engine for construction companies that helps you find new construction projects. To do this, the startup needs people to help the model understand information from news articles and municipal documents. It was here that the services of prisoners came in handy.
This type of work is usually done by Clickworkers from low-wage countries. However, it was important for Metroc that employees speak Finnish. Therefore, the company decided to use the labor of prisoners.
This approach was widely supported in Finland. However, some consider it innovative and useful for the rehabilitation of prisoners, while others see the project as a potential exploitation, in particular, such activities may set a precedent for the use of prisoners in other countries where conditions may be less humane.
However, for many prisoners, such work represents an opportunity to earn money and feel useful. The woman herself says that, although the salary is small, it is better than just sitting in a cell. Many hope that this approach will help prisoners acquire skills that will be useful to them after their release. However, it remains to be seen if this will actually be the case.
