Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

A man who rates Google search results said he makes $3 less per hour than his daughter working in fast food

A man who rates Google search results said he makes $3 less per hour than his daughter working in fast food

One rater told The Los Angeles Times that he and his colleagues "make some of the lowest wages in the US" and often handle very sensitive content.
A man who rates Google search results to weed out dangerous and inappropriate content said he gets paid $3 less per hour than his daughter who works at a fast food job.

Ed Stackhouse, a "rater" employed by Appen, a data company for machine learning development, told The Los Angeles Times he and his colleagues "make some of the lowest wages in the US." Appen's only client is Google, the Times reported, but Google works with several contractors, and doesn't decide pay and benefits for raters as they are not considered company employees.

"Raters" help Google "categorize information to improve our systems," which means Stackhouse sometimes has to review violent or pornographic content, he told the outlet. He said raters who don't want to view pornographic content "might see your tasks diminished," so most of them don't ask to limit what they work on.

"There are times that I have seen some of the graphic content replayed in my dreams," Stackhouse told the Times. "This is why I never work late at night anymore. Twice in my 10 years, I have seen child porn but thank God that is ultra-rare. I would quit."

Stackhouse is in the Alphabet Workers Union, which is currently asking that raters — who the union says "earn poverty wages, with no benefits" — be treated with "the same dignity, respect, and justice" as other workers who make up Google's workforce.

Raters make between $10 to $12 an hour, but after months of protests, some received raises in January to between $14 and $14.50 an hour.

Google says it has over 10,000 raters around the world, but some raters told Forbes they estimated only 3,000 to 5,000 raters got a raise, adding they didn't know how many raters work at Appen. The AWU told Forbes it didn't think raters at other companies who have contracts with Google got raises.

In April 2019, Google announced a minimum standard wage of $15 per hour or more for its extended workforce in the US, meaning even with the raise, workers are still not receiving the standard. However, raters work part-time and do not have access to Google's systems or badges, meaning the company's wages and benefits policy do not apply to them.

Parul Koul — a software engineer at Google and executive chair of the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA — told Insider in a statement that any employee doing work for the company "should not be struggling to make ends meet."

"We stand with Google raters and uplift their demand that Google include our members and coworkers in their own minimum standards of benefits and meet directly with workers to negotiate the fair working conditions they deserve," Koul said.

Stackhouse didn't immediately reply to Insider's request for comment. According to his LinkedIn, Stackhouse is based out of Asheville, North Carolina, where the living wage for one adult with one child is $39.49. Currently, minimum wage in Buncombe County, NC is $7.25. Stackhouse didn't tell the Los Angeles Times how much his daughter makes or what her role at her fast food job is.

According to the Times, Stackhouse has a serious heart condition that requires medical management, but he is ineligible for benefits because Appen caps his hours at 26 per week, making him a part-time employee.

Appen did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Stackhouse told the outlet he's starting to see search results written by Bard, the AI chatbot Google is testing as it competes with Microsoft's new Bing that it launched in partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

In January, Time reported that OpenAI used Kenyan workers, outsourced by AI firm Sama, to flag sensitive and toxic content. Four Sama workers told Time they were paid $2 or less per hour. Sama ended its partnership with OpenAI after the discovery in February 2022.

Sama also works with Google and Microsoft, and told Time it would stop working with graphic content by March 2023.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
×