On December 13, 2023, Tech Mahindra launched 'Populii,' a crowdsourcing platform where gig workers can find jobs requiring human-in-the-loop services to build AI algorithms. According to the company's press release, Populii will create opportunities for jobs in data management, microtasks, and user studies with "industry-leading enterprises." In addition, the platform will provide jobs such as content rating, data collection, data transcription, and data annotation for a variety of data types.

"The platform will create flexible work opportunities for the gig workforce while equipping businesses with reliable data from trained and qualified candidates to build competitive AI algorithms," according to a press release.

While the company talked about three customer-centric principles (Advise, Annotate, and Acquire) to help enterprises accelerate product development, there is not much said about guiding workers in terms of selecting a job. This is important to consider given that in such situations, workers are at a disadvantage.

It is worth noting that India and some of its state governments are working on legal provisions for gig workers’ social welfare. However, as pointed out in a Bar and Bench op-ed by associate lawyers Priya Mamgain and Sakina Kapadia, a closer look at these security provisions unearths “a series of inconsistencies, ambiguities, and a connotation of disentitlements.”