Robot training data in Kenya
7 companies with workers here, 2 datasets collected here and 22 sourced events.
Open on the interactive map →Work types
annotationcontent moderation
Minimum wage
- $119 a month, about $0.69 an hour (ILOSTAT, 2024)
Pay reported
| Work | USD per hour | × min wage | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short-video labeller for China-based firms | $0.45 | 0.7× | 2025 | restofworld. |
| Sama labelers for OpenAI (text) | $1.32 to $2 | 2.4× | 2022 | time. |
| Kenyan AI data workers (60 Minutes) | $1.50 to $2 | 2.6× | 2024 | cbsnews. |
| Content moderator (cited in Kenya pay-rule coverage) | $1.46 to $3.74 | 3.8× | 2026 | weetracker. |
| What OpenAI paid Sama per worker-hour | $12.50 | 18.2× | 2022 | time. |
Companies with workers here
Datasets collected here
- OpenAI toxicity-filter labels via Sama Text snippets of about 100 to over 1,000 words; contracts worth about $200,000 time.
com ↗ Major outlet - Ray-Ban Meta glasses footage annotation techweez.
com ↗ Secondary
Events
- 2026-07-24 Kenya drafts minimum pay and mental-health rules for AI data workers
ICT Ministry draft adds fair-pay benchmarks for annotation roles. weetracker.com ↗ Secondary - 2026-04-27 Labour court rules for 187 ex-Facebook moderators (preliminary)
Court ordered a Meta official to appear for cross-examination; not a final judgment. capitalfm.africa ↗ Secondary - 2026-04-16 Sama lays off 1,000+ Nairobi workers after Meta ends contract
Followed reports workers viewed private smart-glasses scenes. theguardian.com ↗ Major outlet - 2026-03-31 Kenya ODPC probes Meta Ray-Ban footage annotation
Regulator opens own-motion probe into glasses footage labelled in Nairobi. techweez.com ↗ Secondary - 2026-03-12 Kenya's Data Labelers Association organises
DLA pushes for pay, mental-health support and an end to strict NDAs. 404media.co ↗ Major outlet - 2026-02-23 Appen gig workers in Kenya unknowingly near US military work
Somali speakers incl. Kakuma refugees recruited for transcription. restofworld.org ↗ Major outlet - 2026-02-12 Labour court postpones rulings in Motaung and 184-moderator cases against Meta
Justice Nduma Nderi adjourned with no new date. business-humanrights.org ↗ Major outlet - 2025-12-04 Chinese AI firms hire Kenyan video labellers informally
Kenyan students label short videos for China-based firms for ~KES 700 a day. restofworld.org ↗ Major outlet - 2025-04 Global Trade Union Alliance of Content Moderators formed
Moderators' unions from nine countries form a global alliance in Nairobi (month uncertain). civictech.guide ↗ Secondary - 2025-04 Global Trade Union Alliance of Content Moderators launched in Nairobi
Moderators' unions from several countries form an alliance. san.com ↗ Secondary - 2024-11-24 CBS 60 Minutes on Kenyan AI workers
Reports the Remotasks lockout and workers' 'AI sweatshop' complaints. cbsnews.com ↗ Major outlet - 2024-09 Kenya Court of Appeal: Meta can be sued over moderators
Appeal court rejects Meta's jurisdiction challenge in the 184 moderators' dismissal case (exact day uncertain). peopleofcolorintech.com ↗ Secondary - 2024-05-22 97 Kenyan AI workers write to President Biden
Labelers and moderators publish an open letter on pay and trauma ahead of Ruto's state visit. foxglove.org. Major outletuk ↗ - 2024-03-08 Remotasks exits Kenya
Platform blocked Kenyan users. businessdailyafrica.com ↗ Secondary - 2024-03-07 Remotasks exits Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan
Scale's Remotasks cuts off workers in Kenya without explanation, then shuts down in Nigeria and Pakistan. restofworld.org ↗ Major outlet - 2023-05-01 150 workers pledge African Content Moderators Union
Outsourced moderators and labelers for Facebook, TikTok and ChatGPT vote in Nairobi to form a union. time.com ↗ Major outlet - 2023-03 184 moderators sue Meta, Sama and Majorel
Laid-off Nairobi moderators allege unlawful redundancy by Sama and blacklisting by Meta's new vendor Majorel. techcrunch.com ↗ Major outlet - 2023-02-06 Kenyan court rules Meta can be sued over moderator conditions
Employment and Labour Relations Court judge Gakeri rejects Meta's jurisdiction challenge in the Motaung case. jurist.org ↗ Major outlet - 2023-01-18 Time: OpenAI used Kenyan workers on less than $2 per hour
Sama labelers made ChatGPT less toxic for $1.32 to $2 an hour. Sama ended the OpenAI work eight months early and later dropped a $3.9M Facebook moderation contract (about 200 jobs). time.com ↗ Major outlet - 2022-05-10 Daniel Motaung sues Meta and Sama in Kenya
Former South African Sama moderator files a constitutional petition alleging trafficking, union busting and poor conditions. business-humanrights.org ↗ Major outlet - 2022-04-20 MIT Tech Review: How the AI industry profits from catastrophe
Karen Hao and Andrea Paola Hernández show crisis-hit Venezuela becoming a main source of data-labeling labor at roughly 90 cents an hour. technologyreview.com ↗ Major outlet - 2022-02-14 Time: Inside Facebook's African Sweatshop
Billy Perrigo reports that Sama's Nairobi Facebook moderators are among the platform's lowest-paid workers, some earning about $1.50 an hour. time.com ↗ Major outlet
On-the-ground evidence
- Sama
The data labelers employed by Sama on behalf of OpenAI were paid a take-home wage of between around $1.32 and $2 per hour
time.com ↗ Major outlet - Remotasks (Scale AI), exited March 2024
We are discontinuing operations in your current location effective March 8, 2024.
businessdailyafrica.com ↗ Secondary
Every row links to its source, and hovering a link shows the quote it rests on. Research compiled 2026-10-05. Method