Dattu, an engineering student from India, attaches an iPhone to his forehead after classes and dedicates several hours to filming himself as he folds clothes on his balcony. Similarly, Zeus, a medical student from Nigeria, spends a significant portion of his day ironing while in front of the camera. These two individuals are part of a larger group of data recorders employed by the American startup Micro1. They receive specific guidelines, such as ensuring their hands remain visible and moving in a natural manner. The company compiles and annotates these recordings, which are then utilized by companies like Tesla and Figure AI to enhance the AI capabilities of their humanoid robots for various tasks. For standard recordings, Zeus and his fellow Micro1 data collectors earn $15 an hour, while those who provide videos of more intricate tasks, like surgical procedures, can earn as much as $150 per hour. However, only about 25% of these human-generated videos are deemed suitable for training robots, as many are filmed in small living spaces that do not provide ideal conditions. Aaron Prather, a roboticist at ASTM International, notes, "If those individuals are demonstrating poor habits that could result in an incident, then that data is not beneficial." Would you consider taking on a role like this?
Informational material. 18+.
