Humans in the Loop (2024): AI, Invisible Labour, and the Politics of Cultural Representation
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Introduction
The film Humans in the Loop, directed by Aranya Sahay, is a powerful exploration of artificial intelligence, invisible labour, and indigenous identity in the digital age. The film follows Nehma, an Adivasi woman from Jharkhand, who works as a data labeler for an artificial intelligence system. Through her personal journey, the film reveals the hidden human labour behind AI systems and raises important ethical, cultural, and political questions.
This blog is based on the worksheet tasks and includes pre-viewing understanding, observations while watching the film, and post-viewing critical reflection. It critically examines AI bias, invisible labour, representation, and cinematic techniques using film studies perspectives.
Pre-Viewing Understanding: Context and Key Concepts
AI Bias and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems learn from human input and data. However, this data often reflects dominant cultural perspectives, which leads to AI bias. AI bias refers to the inability of machines to fully understand diverse cultural experiences, especially those of marginalized communities.
Indigenous communities possess rich ecological and cultural knowledge developed through generations of lived experience. This knowledge is complex, emotional, and deeply connected to nature. However, AI systems rely on rigid classification and simplified categories. This creates a conflict between technological systems and indigenous knowledge.
This shows that AI is not neutral or objective. Instead, it reflects social hierarchies and power structures. When indigenous perspectives are excluded, technology reinforces inequality.
Labour and Digital Economies: Invisible Labour
Invisible labour refers to work that is essential but remains unrecognized. In digital economies, AI systems depend on human workers who perform repetitive tasks such as data labelling, content moderation, and system training.
These workers play a crucial role in technological development, yet their contributions are often ignored. Highlighting invisible labour helps us understand that technology is not fully autonomous. It depends on human effort, especially from marginalized communities.
The film draws attention to this hidden labour and challenges the myth that machines function independently.
Politics of Representation
Representation refers to how people and communities are portrayed. Tribal communities are often stereotyped as disconnected from modern technology. However, the film challenges this stereotype by showing an Adivasi woman actively participating in technological development.
The film also represents technology as a system shaped by human labour rather than an independent force. This shifts the focus from machines to humans and highlights the importance of cultural identity.
Observations While Watching the Film
Narrative and Storytelling
The film connects Nehma’s personal life with larger technological systems. It shows her family life, cultural environment, and digital work. This creates a contrast between traditional life and modern technological labour.
When Nehma teaches the AI system by labelling images, it shows that machines depend on human knowledge. This challenges the idea that AI is independent and highlights the importance of human contribution.
Representation of Adivasi Culture
This representation challenges stereotypes and shows that tribal communities are not disconnected from technology. Instead, they actively contribute to technological systems. The film gives visibility and voice to marginalized communities.
Cinematic Techniques: Mise-en-scène, Cinematography, and Sound
The film uses powerful cinematic techniques to communicate meaning. Natural environments such as forests are shown using wide shots, natural lighting, and rich colours. These scenes create a sense of warmth, identity, and cultural connection.
In contrast, digital workspaces are shown using artificial lighting and confined framing. This creates a mechanical and repetitive atmosphere. This visual contrast highlights the difference between human life and technological systems.
Close-up shots of Nehma’s face emphasize her emotional experience. These shots help viewers understand the psychological impact of digital labour.Sound design also plays an important role. Natural sounds such as wind and birds create emotional depth, while machine sounds emphasize technological control.
Figure 2: Contrast between natural environment and digital workspace highlighting conflict between human life and technology.
Ethical and Political Questions
The film raises important ethical questions about AI and technological development. It asks whether machines can truly understand human knowledge. It also questions who benefits from technological progress and whose labour remains invisible.
The concept of “human in the loop” shows that humans are essential to AI systems, yet their contributions are often ignored. This reflects broader social inequalities.
Visual Scene Analysis: AI Failure to Recognize Indigenous Culture
One of the most powerful scenes in Humans in the Loop occurs when Nehma and her community try to generate an AI image representing their own Adivasi culture. The AI system fails to produce an accurate image because it does not have proper cultural data. Instead, it generates incorrect or irrelevant visuals that do not reflect their true identity. This moment reveals the limitations of artificial intelligence and shows how technology often excludes marginalized communities.
Later in the film, Nehma’s daughter exports real photos from her phone and uploads them into the system. After receiving authentic cultural images, the AI finally generates accurate representations of their culture. This scene symbolically shows that AI depends entirely on human input and cannot function without real human knowledge and experience.
From a film studies perspective, this scene highlights the theme of epistemic inequality, where dominant cultures are represented in technology while indigenous cultures remain invisible. The use of close-up shots of the screen emphasizes the emotional impact of this moment, showing both frustration and empowerment. The scene clearly reinforces the film’s message that humans are essential in shaping and correcting artificial intelligence systems.
Figure 3: AI system failing to generate authentic Adivasi cultural images until real photos are uploaded, highlighting the dependence of AI on human knowledge and cultural data.
This scene powerfully demonstrates that technology is not neutral. It learns from human input, and without inclusive representation, AI systems reproduce cultural invisibility. The film ultimately shows that indigenous communities must actively participate in technological systems to ensure accurate and respectful representation.
Post-Viewing Critical Reflection
AI, Bias, and Epistemic Representation
The film clearly shows that AI systems are shaped by human knowledge. Machines learn from human input, but they often fail to understand indigenous perspectives.
Nehma’s ecological knowledge is based on lived experience, while AI relies on rigid classification. This creates epistemic hierarchy, where dominant knowledge systems are valued more than indigenous knowledge.
The film challenges this hierarchy by showing that indigenous knowledge is meaningful and important. It reveals that AI is not neutral but reflects social and cultural power structures.
Labour and the Politics of Cinematic Visibility
The film highlights invisible labour through its visual storytelling. Nehma’s repetitive data-labelling work is shown in detail. Close-up shots and slow editing emphasize her emotional and psychological experience.
This representation creates empathy and helps viewers understand the human cost of technological progress. The film shows that digital capitalism depends on marginalized workers whose labour remains invisible.
The film makes invisible labour visible and encourages viewers to recognize its importance.
Film Form, Structure, and Digital Culture
The film uses visual contrast between natural and digital environments to communicate its themes. Natural scenes represent freedom, identity, and human connection. Digital spaces represent mechanical control and repetition.
Camera techniques, editing, and sound design help viewers experience Nehma’s emotional journey. These cinematic techniques reinforce the film’s message about the relationship between humans and technology.
Learning Outcomes
This film provides several important insights:
It helps us understand that AI depends on human labour and knowledge.
It raises awareness about invisible labour in digital economies.
It challenges stereotypes about indigenous communities.
It highlights ethical and social issues in technological development.
It encourages critical thinking about technology and society.
Humans in the Loop is a powerful and thought-provoking film that explores the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. It reveals the hidden labour behind technological systems and challenges the idea that AI is independent.
Through its narrative, representation, and cinematic techniques, the film highlights issues of labour, identity, power, and cultural knowledge. It gives visibility to marginalized communities and encourages viewers to reflect on the ethical implications of technology.
The film ultimately reminds us that technology is shaped by humans, and humans will always remain an essential part of the loop.
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