Is applying for the DataAnnotation job worth it?
BlackTechLogy: The 45-minute artificial intelligence editing test was my second round at working on AI writing
This post is part of a series entitled “BlackTechLogy.” Click here for the archived posts.
Update on August 1, 2024: I never expected this post to be visited this often. However, it makes sense considering this Data Writer job post is everywhere I look — even when I’m not on job sites. Had I known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have applied. On Glassdoor, the reviews have a noticeable pattern — 10 African-American, 10 Asian, 11 Hispanic and 60 white. Is it possible that minority groups are not reviewing as much? Yes. Certainly. I have 281 reviews on Yelp versus only two on Glassdoor. (The vetting process for the latter is a headache that usually auto-rejects anything but glowing reviews.) But 60 versus 10 is quite the gap.
Update on March 19, 2024: Please scroll to the bottom of this post for an update on the vetting process. Additionally, there is another AI editor job posting called Outlier, which has an uptick in posts. However, before they’ll allow you to complete a test, they ask for your driver’s license and other confidential information. I don’t recommend releasing your license or any other documentation that can easily make you a victim of identity theft. Meet the staff. Talk to a human being. Background checks should come AFTER you get an offer.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for every purchase with my referral link.
If you’re a freelancer who is looking for new writing assignments, it’s all but impossible to miss the uptick in artificial intelligence jobs on career (and work-from-home) sites. I’d already learned a considerable amount related to artificial intelligence writing after a law firm client sent me a massive work log of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to review.
Recommended Read: “I completed my first job interview with an AI agent ~ BlackTechLogy: Are hiring managers and HR reps being replaced by artificial intelligence?”
I couldn’t put my finger on why the content read differently, but something was off. I knew his writing style, and these FAQs felt mechanical. The words on the page were factually correct (for the most part), but there was an impassive tone in the writing. I finally asked him, “Did you write this?” When he told me he was using an AI program, it all made sense. Now I could approach the editing in a different manner.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I choose to continue promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All five of my Substack publications now include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site, not just the Amazon Black-owned logo, to verify this.) If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
Imagine having standing water in your bathroom sink and a clog that Drano can’t fix. Now imagine the way a human plumber would talk to you about getting your sink back to working order versus reading an instruction manual for a drain plumber. The first option can answer questions in real time based off of lived experience (and shame you for using Drano). The second option couldn’t care less about whether you can wash your hands in this porcelain fixture ever again.
And that’s what it’s like to edit AI writing. AI editors are looking at punctuation, grammar and pacing, but they’re spending even more time on tone.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for each sale made with my referral links on this page.
After months of editing AI material for the law firm, this DataAnnotation 45-minute test was giving me deja vu — with one exception. Instead of reading diplomatic legal material and financial advice, I was reading about politics and vetting whether certain forum comments would be considered free speech versus an immediate ban from a forum. You can’t just tell the test, “This person is a jerk, but this other person is making valid points.” You have to explain feelings to this software.
By the time I’d finished the unpaid 45-minute test (at $20 per hour if hired), I was honestly too tired to take the second HTML/CSS coding test ($40 per hour if hired).