Scale AI's whole business model is wage theft. I don't mean to be insensitive, but out of all the Scale AI experiences I've heard about, yours is the least egregious. It's a dystopian, shitty company.
I was similarly conned by Scale AI -- promised a significant bonus for some tasks, then rejected and not paid at all. Bet they kept my task text anyways.
It's a classic scam: make a job post for freelancers, ask for a "work sample" or "take-home project," then have a few dozen applicants do the actual task you need them to do as their sample, then reject everybody.
It's a classic scam: make a job post for freelancers, ask for a "work sample" or "take-home project," then have a few dozen applicants do the actual task you need them to do as their sample, then reject everybody.