In a portable structure within the Kakuma refugee camp near Kenya’s border with South Sudan, a woman known as Grace utilizes ChatGPT to translate Christian hymns into East Asian languages she does not speak. Despite not knowing her client, the purpose of the task, or whether she will receive payment, Grace continues this work out of necessity. As a refugee who cannot legally seek employment in Kenya, she views any available opportunity as vital for her survival.
Grace, who requested anonymity due to a nondisclosure agreement, inputs English text into ChatGPT to generate translations. She then cross-references these outputs to identify existing versions, as well as details regarding the translator, author, and Christian denomination. These findings are submitted through AOP Connect, a crowdsourced research platform owned by RWS, a British AI enterprise software company.
At least it’s income where none exists. Don’t judge their choices when you haven’t faced such extreme constraints.
I’m shocked that RWS operates in a refugee camp. How is this sustainable long-term with AI automation coming?
Grace’s story highlights the desperation refugees face when legal work is banned. We need policy changes, not just charity.
Wait, she doesn’t know the languages but uses ChatGPT? Isn’t this just prompt engineering, not translation?
This is digital colonialism at its worst. Exploiting vulnerable people for pennies while tech giants profit endlessly.