Humans in the Loop (2024)

Nehma, an Adivasi woman from the Oraon tribe, returns to her ancestral village with her children, Dhaanu (12) and Guntu (1), after her divorce. She begins work as a 'data labeller,' training AI models to recognise objects in images and videos. Finding AI childlike in its learning process, she imagines it seeing the world through her eyes, a connection she longs for with Dhaanu. Even as Nehma faces the challenge of giving Dhaanu-forever tempted to flee back to the city-a reason to stay, she notices AI adopting harmful human biases, some echoing prejudices against her community. Ultimately, Nehma realises she's battling not just for Dhaanu's future but for how technology and the world see people like her. —MAMI 2024