> To a social justice warrior in SF or NY, it might have been exploitation, but to me an African teenager with no relevant experience or higher education, it was the first step I needed to pull myself up by my bootstraps.

Is indentured slavery exploitative? Your statement can be applied to indentured slaves unchanged. Exploitation cannot be justified by the fact that the victims lot has improved (see indentured slavery), or that the exploiter has their victims consent (see indentured slavery).

I'm speaking here as an SF Social Justice Warrior...who also is sub-Saharan Africa born and bred, and to whom poverty is no stranger.

When it comes to "overpaying" tech workers regardless of their location, HN mostly has unified praise as a job ought to be paid what it's worth[1], regardless of workers location; that principle should not stop at the borders of the United States, or limited to the middle-class. People labeling data for AI should be paid by their worth, and not by cost of living.

1. The fact that your comment is at the top bothers me a little due to hypocrisy. Smacks a little of "Location-independent-top-market income for me, but not for thee"