Opinion Aranya Sahay’s debut film ‘Humans in the Loop’ asks: Can technology ever truly reflect diverse worldviews?
This resonates deeply in 2025, with AI’s trillion-dollar boom relying on invisible workers in places like rural India. The film frames their labour through a feminist lens: Like motherhood, data labelling demands patience, care, empathy and endurance, yet remains undervalued
What makes Humans in the Loop essential is its refusal to oversimplify. It does not demonise AI but exposes its human flaws and asks us to feed it more ethical, more diverse data (PTI) In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) slips into nearly every part of daily life — from assistants managing our time to algorithms shaping what we see — Aranya Sahay’s debut feature, Humans in the Loop (2024), lands as a thoughtful intervention. Released amid global debates on AI ethics, this Hindi–Kurukh drama urges us to look past technology’s polished surface. It focuses on human hands — often those of marginalised women — that train these systems, weaving a narrative that’s equally an intimate family drama and a sharp social commentary. It enmeshes the abstraction of “AI” into lived experience.
The story follows Nehma (played by Sonal Madhushankar), a resilient Adivasi woman from Jharkhand. Separated from her partner with whom she had been in an informal “Dhuku marriage,” she returns to her ancestral village with her teenage daughter, Dhannu (Ridhima Singh) and toddler son Guntu. In search of stability and custody security, she joins a remote data-labelling centre for a US-based AI company. Her work — annotating images to “teach” algorithms how to see — is framed like raising a child. This parallel becomes the film’s emotional core, as Nehma brings indigenous knowledge to her task, subtly resisting the Western-centric assumptions built into the system. The porcupine, or sahi, recurs as a symbol of this stance: Prickly yet protective, it mirrors the guarded resilience of Adivasi life against rapid modernisation.
Sahay’s direction is masterful in its subtlety, blending documentary-like realism with poetic flourishes. Jharkhand’s forests, captured by cinematographers Harshit Saini and Monica Tiwari, offer a vivid counterpoint to the sterile glow of computer screens. The pacing is deliberate, almost meditative, drawing viewers into Nehma’s daily rhythms — labelling data by day, tending to land and family by night. It is a slow burn that reflects the repetitive, exhausting nature of gig-economy labour. The soundscape deepens the contrast, blending jungle whispers with electronic hums and underscoring the tension between organic worlds and digital demands.
At its heart, Humans in the Loop becomes an act of decolonising imagination. Nehma’s desire to “raise” AI with Adivasi knowledge —of forests, animals, and cultural heritage — highlights how current AI systems lean on Eurocentric datasets that flatten or erase indigenous perspectives. As she spots bias in the algorithms, the film poses a crucial question: Can technology ever truly reflect diverse worldviews, or is it doomed to perpetuate colonial hierarchies? This resonates deeply in 2025, with AI’s trillion-dollar boom relying on invisible workers in places like rural India. Drawing partly from real-life stories at data centres such as iMerit’s Ranchi facility, Sahay pays tribute to Adivasi women whose patience and intuition quietly shape the future of machine intelligence. The film frames their labour through a feminist lens: Like motherhood, data labelling demands patience, care, empathy and endurance, yet remains undervalued.
The performances enhance the impact of the film. Madhushankar’s Nehma is a revelation — her face carries weariness, resolve, and hope in small gestures. Ridhima Singh, as Dhannu, embodies generational conflict, torn between village serenity and urban allure, while Gita Guha’s supporting role adds layers of communal wisdom. Sahay’s script avoids preachiness, letting themes unfold organically, though some critics argue that the film’s optimism about AI’s potential feels a touch rosy after its initial critiques.
What makes Humans in the Loop essential is its refusal to oversimplify. It does not demonise AI but exposes its human flaws and asks us to feed it more ethical, more diverse data. It challenges dominant tech narratives with care and authenticity, especially in its portrayal of Adivasi life.
The film’s Oscar push and Netflix release have expanded its reach. Its accolades — including the FIPRESCI-India Grand Prix and Best Director at the Jagran Film Festival — are well earned. If anything falters, it’s the occasional repetition in exploring bias, though the persistence mirrors real-world battles with systemic inequity. Ultimately, Humans in the Loop is a quiet triumph — a film that honours indigenous voices while nudging us to rethink our digital future. Watch it; it might just retrain how you see AI.
Bunkar is a researcher specialising in caste and cinema
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