Ethically Distant? Awareness of Hidden Labor in AI Supply Chains Among Remote Workers

As large language models (LLMs) become deeply embedded in knowledge work, questions of transparency and responsibility in AI supply chains are gaining urgency. While the reliance of these systems on distributed human labor is well established, less attention has been paid to how this hidden layer is perceived by those who routinely use AI tools in their everyday work.

This paper examines how remote knowledge workers perceive the hidden labor embedded in AI supply chains and whether such awareness influences their patterns of LLM use and tool selection. Remote workers represent a particularly relevant group for this analysis, as recent evidence indicates that AI adoption in these roles has reached approximately 66%, compared to 32% in non-remote roles (Gallup, 2026). As intensive users of LLMs who are nonetheless removed from their underlying production processes, they occupy a critical yet understudied position within AI supply chains.

Empirically, the study draws on a survey of 300 remote workers which will be conducted in June 2026 as part of the project “The Labour Market in the Digital Age: Implications and Prospects for the Future of Work,” funded by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency. The survey will capture respondents' awareness of the invisible human labor underpinning LLMs and assess whether this awareness is associated with differences in usage intensity and tool selection in remote workers.

By focusing on the perspective of AI users rather than producers, this paper contributes to ongoing debates on ethical AI by highlighting a potential “awareness gap” at the demand side of AI supply chains. Understanding whether and how users engage with the hidden human costs of AI is essential for advancing more transparent, responsible, and human-centric approaches to the development and use of AI technologies.