we are ghost workers — Ajša Mara Kacjan

we are ghost workers

Picture by Saša Huzjak

We are ghost workers is a project dedicated to all the workers performing online tasks, usually to train AI or moderate digital spaces which are disguised as being automated and self-sufficient. It focuses on Amazon Mechanical Turk that have been underpaying and exploiting workers for almost two decades with no wish to better the conditions. By using machine learning and creative writing as a form of resistance the artistic project follows the research paper and dives into merging social justice, AI practices and artistic strategies. The interface made with Mediapipe using hand detection allows participants to reposition parts of the research paper without touching the screen into a critical letter dedicated and sent to Jeff Bezos. The project is inspired by the 2014 campaign of writing letters to Jeff Bezos organised by We are Dynamo, a community platform that is no longer active, but still remains to be relevant in today’s mystification, fetishization and commercialization of AI.

The project We are Ghost Workers was developed as part of the courses Application Lab and Machine Learning for Artists at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and was presented on June 11, 2025, on the university premises. Alongside the project, a research paper titled We are Ghost Workers: Microwork and Digital Resistance was also produced. In August 2025 the project was presented as part of a Platforma sodobnega plesa Festival in Puppet Theatre Maribor.