Ranchi, Sep 19 (PTI) Mumbai-based writer-director Aranya Sahay’s Hindi feature film ‘Humans in the Loop’ was released here on Friday, the filmmaker said.
Sahay told PTI that the 75-minute film in Hindi with English subtitles tells the story of an Oraon tribal woman who begins to engage with Artificial Intelligence (AI) while working at a remote data-labelling centre in Jharkhand.
Speaking about the background of the film project, Sahay said, “The film is inspired by a real and contemporary phenomenon unfolding in India’s tribal belts. In recent years, major tech companies have set up backend offices in regions like Jharkhand, where thousands of people are employed in ‘data labelling’.” “Data labelling is the first step in machine learning, where workers tag thousands of images and videos to teach algorithms how to recognise and distinguish objects. This work is laborious and tedious and is often outsourced to rural areas because of the availability of cheap labour,” Sahay added.
“But the film does not stop at telling a story of a labourer. It explores the deeper conflict and dialogue taking place between indigenous communities and Artificial Intelligence. Here, the data labeller plays the role of a parent, and AI becomes the apprentice or “child.” This metaphor leads us to a larger question: Is AI truly a blank slate, or does it inherit the biases of its creators?” Sahay said.
‘Humans in the Loop’ is Sahay’s second independently directed feature film, which premiered at the Mumbai MAMI Festival 2024.
The film has been acclaimed at major film festivals across the world and was a finalist at the Sloan Distribution Grant and bagged the best debut film award at New York Indian Film Festival 2025 and grand jury award for best feature film at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2025. PTI ANB MNB
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