Delayed Paydays in AI World: Major Tech Contractors Face Pay Hiccups!

Appen, an Australian company providing AI training for large tech corporations, has faced payment issues after transitioning to a new management platform, CrowdGen. Known for its one million contractors who work in over 500 languages and across 200 countries, Appen has been under fire as one-third of their payments to these "ghost workers" were not dispatched on time. This issue was reportedly due to a problem related to payment processing integration.

Although the company is addressing the issue and states that two-thirds of the payments were made on time, with daily payouts still ongoing, the delayed payments have caused dissatisfaction among contractors. Some of these workers have posted their grievances on platforms like Reddit, expressing frustration and anxiety over the delayed compensation.

Despite this turmoil, Appen remains optimistic, asserting that they aim to clear the remaining payments and are committed to punctual payments for October’s work. The company's CEO, Ryan Kolln, has apologised for the inconvenience and stress caused, assuring that diligent steps are being taken to rectify the system.

This comes on the back of Appen's announcement in October, of having raised $50m in equity. However, in a recent setback, Google terminated its A$125m contract with Appen.

- CyberBeat