# The rise of 'pseudo-AI': how tech firms quietly use humans to do bots' work

https://blog.cynexia.com/the-rise-of-pseudo-ai-how-tech-firms-quietly-use-humans-to-do-bots-work

Author: [Rob Aleck](https://blog.cynexia.com/pages/about) · https://github.com/mnbf9rca · https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertaleck/ · https://family-foqos.app/

Published: 2018-07-15
Categories: LinkedIn cross-post


There's a massive ethical problem here - people expecting medical notes, receipts with personal data, or their emails to only be "read" by a machine may not have given that consent if it was clear a human would read that they ordered takeaway for 2 to their hotel room while on that business trip without their partner. But when i read the Guardian's article on "fake AI", i have to say i wasn't surprised. It reminded me of Andrew Mason's interview on how he started Groupon ([https://mixergy.com/interviews/andrew-mason-groupon-interview/](<https://mixergy.com/interviews/andrew-mason-groupon-interview/>)) - the big question was how the business should work, and building technology which may not be usable later was a waste.  
[https://mixergy.com/interviews/andrew-mason-groupon-interview/](<https://mixergy.com/interviews/andrew-mason-groupon-interview/>)Using what one expert calls a ‘Wizard of Oz technique’, some companies keep their reliance on humans a secret from investors