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Gayathri Vaidyanathan

@gayathriv.bsky.social

220 followers 270 following 20 posts

Labor x Tech Editor @restofworld.org, covering how tech is transforming the way we work, especially outside the west. Ideas & tips: [email protected].

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Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · 28d

Meta suppressed research that might have illuminated potential safety risks to children and teens on the company’s virtual reality devices and apps. . the company deployed its legal team to screen, edit and sometimes veto internal research about youth safety www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Meta suppressed research on child safety, employees say

The company’s lawyers intervened to shape research that might have shed light on risks in virtual reality, four current and former staffers have told Congress. Meta denies the allegations.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · Aug 27

“What older adults fear is not death. ‘I’ve lived long enough,’ they tell us. What they fear the most is loneliness.”

AI robot dolls are helping South Korea’s seniors feel less alone
https://restofworld.org/2025/korea-ai-robot-senior-care-hyodol

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · Aug 21

AI chatbots are starting to replace the low-wage workers, known as “chatters,” who impersonate OnlyFans stars in direct messaging with fans. Chatters say that rising sales quotas have made their work more stressful and exhausting
https://restofworld.org/2025/onlyfans-ai-dm-bots

Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · Aug 20

A hidden network handles chats for OnlyFans stars. AI could take over -- but maybe, not yet. “We keyboard smash, intentionally misspell, and use Gen Z slang. I don’t think AI is at that level of flirting yet” -- by Michael Beltran in @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/onlyfan...

A hidden network handles chats for OnlyFans stars. AI could soon take over

Impersonators for OnlyFans models said their sales quotas are soaring, and once AI improves, they could be out of work.

restofworld.org

Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · Aug 13

The UAE plans to become the world’s testing ground for autonomous vehicles and upend the lives of 30,000 cabbies in the process. Amar Diwakar in @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/uae-rob...

Dubai’s robotaxi dreams are coming for human drivers

The UAE plans to become the world’s testing ground for autonomous vehicles and upend the lives of 30,000 cabbies in the process.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · Aug 4

This is the giant Canary in the coal mine of what AI will do to education. Improperly adopted, it will destroy critical thinking and educational attainment.

For the oligarchs, this is a feature of AI, not a bug.

restofworld.org/2025/colombi...

Meta brought AI to rural Colombia. Now students are failing exams

When Meta embedded AI bots in its apps, even students in the most remote corners of Colombia gained access. But rather than boosting learning, it’s getting in the way.

restofworld.org

Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · Jul 16

Drones, AI and robot pickers: meet the fully autonomous farm www.wsj.com/tech/autonom...

Drones, AI and Robot Pickers: Meet the Fully Autonomous Farm

New technologies are paving the way for farms that can run themselves, with minimal human input

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Anup Kaphle @anup.bsky.social · Jun 16

Scarred by long hours, low pay, and a hostile work culture, many chip workers for Samsung are leaving for competitors, including American companies.

Michelle Kim's reporting from Seoul for @restofworld.org

restofworld.org/2025/samsung...

Samsung is desperate to compete on chips. Workers say it comes at a cost.

Scarred by long hours, low pay, and a hostile work culture, many chip workers are leaving for competitors, including American companies.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rina Chandran @rinachandran.bsky.social · Jun 4

A record number of people are leaving the Philippines to work in Taiwanese semiconductor factories, where they face long shifts, low pay, unequal treatment and the threat of deportation, report Hsiuwen Liu and @michaelbeltran.bsky.social for @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/filipin...

Workers describe abusive treatment in Taiwan’s semiconductor factories

A record number of people are leaving the Philippines to work in Taiwanese factories, where they face long shifts, low pay, and unequal treatment.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · Jun 3

Your next boss might be an app.

Read @gayathriv.bsky.social on how VC money is fueling a global boom in worker surveillance tech
restofworld.org/2025/employe...

VC money is fueling a global boom in worker surveillance tech

A funding surge has given rise to technologies to track, analyze and manage workers — often in countries with little regulation.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · May 29

In Dubai’s AI gold rush, tech workers from the West are often headhunted for top positions at high salaries. Experienced AI experts from South Asia and Ukraine fill the lower ranks, for lower pay.

Our new story:
restofworld.org/2025/golden-...

In Dubai’s AI job market, your passport matters

Western job seekers see lucrative offers in the booming AI hub, while others deal with rejections and lower pay.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · May 28

Taiwan has recruited a record number of people from nearby nations to meet the surge in demand for chips for AI. These workers are usually represented by brokers, who have so much control over their lives that many migrants feel trapped and exploited
restofworld.org/2025/taiwan-...

Taiwan’s chip plants run on migrant workers. Job brokers run their lives

In Taiwan’s AI-fueled chip boom, brokers control everything from paychecks to dorm beds, leaving workers feeling trapped and exploited.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rina Chandran @rinachandran.bsky.social · May 27

Byju Raveendran, India’s edtech titan, is facing a $533M fraud scandal. From Dubai, the enigmatic founder of Byju’s recounts how he made his empire — and vows to rebuild it. @yudhijit.bsky.social reports for @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/byjus-o...

The math tutor and the missing $533 million

From Dubai, the enigmatic founder of Byju’s recounts how he made his empire — and vows to rebuild it.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · May 21

Speaking of scams: @restofworld.org reports that young Indonesians who think they are applying for tech jobs are being trafficked to scam farms, where they are forced to use AI-generated deepfakes, voice clones, and other tech to con people out of their savings. restofworld.org/2025/fake-jo...

AI scam factories force trafficked workers to defraud global victims

“Every day, for eight months, I deceived people”; Americans alone lost $12.5 billion last year to these sophisticated online cons.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

beebee (oh_fudgecakes) @asideoftrashplease.bsky.social · May 20

I'm not Indonesian but I live in SEA and KEEP getting these really weird tech interview offers. I always ask them to email if they are serious, and either they disappear, and the next day, the account is deleted, or they say "later, after you've interviewed, we'll email"

Rest of World @restofworld.org · May 20

Young Indonesians are increasingly falling for fraudulent job ads on Telegram and Facebook, and getting trafficked to scam farms in Southeast Asia. Once there, they are forced to use AI to con people into parting with their life savings
restofworld.org/2025/fake-jo...

How phony job ads on Facebook and Telegram lure tech workers to scam compounds

Young Indonesians looking for jobs abroad are trafficked to fortified scam centers, where they are forced to weaponize AI chatbots and deepfakes.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · May 20

Young Indonesians are increasingly falling for fraudulent job ads on Telegram and Facebook, and getting trafficked to scam farms in Southeast Asia. Once there, they are forced to use AI to con people into parting with their life savings
restofworld.org/2025/fake-jo...

How phony job ads on Facebook and Telegram lure tech workers to scam compounds

Young Indonesians looking for jobs abroad are trafficked to fortified scam centers, where they are forced to weaponize AI chatbots and deepfakes.

restofworld.org

Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · May 19

Progress does not have to involve gobbling up all the content on the internet and hiring marginalized workers to process it -
@_KarenHao, author of Empire of AI (out soon!).

Here's a Q&A with @michelletomkim - restofworld.org/2025/karen-h...

Why AI advancement doesn’t have to come at the expense of marginalized workers

In her new book, Empire of AI, Karen Hao insists that AI companies don’t have to choose between exploiting workers and chasing growth.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · May 14

Robot chefs are replacing humans at some South Korean restaurants. Tech companies say robots can help solve labor shortages in the aging country, but workers say they've been demoted from chefs to cleaning staff, and diners are complaining about the food.

Full story: restofworld.org/2025/robot-c...

Robot chefs take over at South Korea’s highway restaurants, to mixed reviews

Automation is posed as a labor shortage solution, but workers say robots are making their jobs — and food — worse.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · May 7

Facing a penalty for data breaches, Meta is threatening to pull WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram from Nigeria

New from @tarykuh.bsky.social:
restofworld.org/2025/meta-ni...

What Meta’s dispute in Nigeria means for its millions of users

Facing a penalty for data breaches, the social media giant is threatening to pull WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram from Africa's most populous nation.

restofworld.org

Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · May 7

Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project. nymag.com/intelligence...

Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College

ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project.

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rosana Pinheiro-Machado @pinheiromachado.bsky.social · Apr 30

Our very own @deeplab.bsky.social
Wagner Alves da Silva, is featured in this brilliant Rest of World article on Brazil’s child influencer industry.

restofworld.org/2025/brazil-...

Kidfluencers’ dreams of wealth clash with Brazil’s labor laws

Young Brazilians chase social media fame, selling “get-rich” schemes, while legal battles question platform responsibility and the cost to childhood.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Rest of World @restofworld.org · May 3

Who's watching out for the kidfluencers?

Prosecutors in Brazil are going after TikTok for allowing child labor on the app
restofworld.org/2025/brazil-...

Brazil is going after social media sites to keep its kids safe

Young Brazilians chase social media fame, selling “get-rich” schemes, while legal battles question platform responsibility and the cost to childhood.

restofworld.org

Reposted by Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Tim Newman @tnewmsblues.bsky.social · Apr 16

“hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans do informal work for the tech industry… But with the rise of generative AI, such digital jobs have become scarce and poorly paid”
restofworld.org/2025/generat...

Venezuelan migrants relied on clickwork to survive. Now AI is replacing them

Venezuela has long provided the tech industry with cheap, educated workers. But with the rise of generative AI, jobs have become less lucrative and harder to find.

restofworld.org

Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · Feb 21

Turkey’s translators are training the AI tools that will replace them. Human fallout may include being replaced by LLMs, diminished skills, and fewer career options for all but the elite scholars. By Kaya Genc in @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/turkeys...

Turkey’s translators are training the AI tools that will replace them

Human fallout may include being replaced by LLMs, diminished skills, and fewer career options for all but the elite scholars.

restofworld.org

Gayathri Vaidyanathan @gayathriv.bsky.social · Feb 13

Student interns as young as 15 double up as labor in Taiwan's semiconductor factories which supply Apple, Microsoft and others. "The time spent in school is very, very little — sometimes less than two days a week." - by Hsiuwen Liu in @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2025/taiwan-...

Teens across Asia migrate to Taiwan for promises of semiconductor jobs

Student-interns are paid for low-skill factory tasks and spend little time in the classroom.

restofworld.org