Why data neutrality is more critical than ever

Within the AI data ecosystem, recent industry developments have raised valid concerns about issues such as data privacy, neutrality and sovereignty. While quality, speed and scale continue to be important factors, clients also want to be assured of ethical data sourcing, model transparency and partner impartiality.

Frontier model builders know that safeguarding their data supply chain against strategic vulnerabilities is paramount. For this reason, partnering with an AI data vendor committed to upholding neutrality has never before been more important.

The importance of leveraging a trusted AI data partner

The brisk pace of AI development has generated some incredible use cases. While monumental, so too are the potential threats posed by AI’s irresponsible use and the possibility of perpetuating and exacerbating inaccuracies and bias. To effectively mitigate against this, model builders must rely on diverse training datasets created by independent third-party AI data solutions partners who are neutral, ethical and exist to serve each client exclusively.

At TELUS Digital, we have delivered AI training data and post-training solutions to many of the world's leading technology and automotive companies. Our teams have supported frontier AI developers and hyperscalers with a wide range of projects, including data collection, annotation, relevance modeling and generative AI post-training across modalities like text, image and audio. We've also solved complex, high-context annotation challenges for global automotive OEMs and tier-1 suppliers. Some recent examples include:

• Creating an off-the-shelf dataset to advance the capabilities of large language models and fine-tune a clients’ AI model for scientific and mathematical reasoning.
• Using our proven field operations testing experience to create a high-quality dataset for training advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles (AVs).
• Assisting a leading U.S. autonomous vehicle tech developer in refining and improving their AV bot with our tailored fine-tuning datasets.

As a proven and trusted partner for top model builders, we have the breadth, resources and experience to take on AI projects of any scale or complexity.

Selection criteria for choosing the right data provider

The importance of leveraging the services of a neutral and trusted AI data solutions provider can’t be overstated. Consider the following criteria when narrowing down your selection.

Comprehensive capabilities

Real scale can be achieved through secure, diverse and global data solutions from a provider who is trusted by top model builders and enterprises. The right partner will help solve every step of the data problem — from collection, annotation and validation to post-training data via innovative product engineering and proven operational excellence.

At TELUS Digital, our extensive capabilities enable us to tackle any obstacles in your roadmap, ensuring seamless continuity and security for your model development strategy. From data gathering and annotation to intricate reasoning and agentic training, spanning computer vision and NLP to generative and agentic AI, we offer a comprehensive suite of solutions across various modalities and domains.

Compliance, trust and ethics

When reaching out to potential partners, look for enterprise-grade platforms, practices and policies. A key requirement is a deep commitment to data privacy and compliance with regulations like GDPR and SOC 2. The optimal partner should be a recognized leader in ethical AI practices, with proven processes for fraud prevention, contributor verification, platform security and data integrity.

Our team implements a multi-stage, zero-trust verification process that spans the entire data pipeline. Protocols include rigorous ID verification, anti-money laundering checks and facial recognition during contributor sourcing. Further, we require live video "selfies" to prevent fraud and flag high-risk individuals. During production, we continuously monitor expert identity, location and task accuracy with real-time event tracking and automated responses to ensure data quality and integrity. Further, our security architecture has built-in feedback loops that our sourcing team uses to refine data points and prevent any future fraudulent activity. This proactive strategy improves the quality of the data collected and reduces costs associated with fraud recovery.

Complete independence

Be sure to assess whether or not your partner uses their own proprietary platforms and resources. They should also have processes and systems in place for any data-related work to provide guaranteed continuity. The right partner will have long-term investments in multiple AI development areas and infrastructure.

To create accurate, quick and cost-effective datasets for the most demanding foundational and enterprise model builders, we rely on our proprietary tools and in-house resources. For example, we source from our globally distributed AI Community of over 1 million members who have access to our cutting-edge mobile app designed to collect high-quality multimodal data. Our sourcing platform, Experts Engine, algorithmically matches tasks to be performed to the best qualified individuals. Further, Fine-Tune Studio and Ground Truth Studio, our feature-rich task execution platforms, enable these qualified subject-matter experts to work on a variety of data tasks designed for model fine-tuning and alignment.

Continuity for business and strategy

A worthy third-party partner will offer turnkey onboarding and transition support for clients. They will also have high volume experience to tackle the breadth, resources and experience required to continue your business and complete your roadmap.

With over 20 years of experience, we pride ourselves on garnering our clients’ complete confidence in getting the best team, support and solutions for multimodal data projects at any scale and engagement type, so that you’ll never have to worry about deprioritization of your projects.

Commitment to quality

Quality should be embedded in the fabric of your AI data provider’s business. This can include criteria such as high-threshold qualification for project contributors, built-in tools and plugins for quality across their tools and iterative and client-in-the-loop processes for quality assurance. With our resources and proprietary technology, we can ensure solutions at optimized costs that are high-volume, high-value and, above all, high-quality.

Leverage TELUS Digital for an independent, privacy-first partner

Whether your aim is to mitigate risks or broaden your horizons, TELUS Digital provides a data engine committed to upholding the sovereignty of your training data. In a landscape fraught with uncertainties, leverage the services of a partner you can trust. Connect with us today.