Training AI robots, one chore at a time
The Globe and Mail · Published on October 10, 2026
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Description
In the past few years, researchers have found that first-person video is a crucial ingredient to training general-purpose robots to work in factories and warehouses, or vacuum floors and load dishwashers in homes. Globe reporter Joe Castaldo tried making one of these videos using an online platform that collects and pays for them. Every movement had to be recorded. Both hands had to stay in frame. Some chores had to be stretched out far longer than felt natural. And the experience revealed a strange reality at the centre of the AI race: companies are collecting millions of hours of human activity so robots can learn to navigate the physical world. From Nigeria to the Philippines, thousands of people are supplying that data. Their labour may help create the next generation of humanoid robots. The question is who benefits when human experience becomes training data. All figures are in USD. Video by Joe Castaldo, Kelsey Wilson and Bianca Bharti. Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-startups-are-hiring-low-paid-gig-workers-to-train-robots-on-manual/ #AI #robots #tech
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