A class action complaint has been filed against three Bay Area firms, alleging negligence and unsafe working conditions after contract workers were exposed to disturbing content while training generative AI models. The plaintiffs, referred to as “taskers,” claim they suffered severe psychological harm from the “deeply unsettling” scenarios they were required to process. The complaint details instances where those who voiced discomfort over certain tasks were reportedly terminated without explanation or removed from all projects.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Clarkson Law Firm, targets Scale AI, Smart Ecosystem, and Outlier AI. The companies are accused of failing to fully disclose the nature of the work and ignoring pleas for support, with some employees facing retaliation for their complaints. For further details, the complaint can be explored comprehensively in the legal filing.