AI startups are paying people to film themselves folding laundry - and they'll use this data to train robots

"Doing three loads of laundry on a Sunday morning isn't fun. But what if you could get paid for it? The startups that help train AI chatbots, such as Encord and Micro1, say they're seeing a surge in demand from robotics companies hungry for high-quality training data - and creating it often requires paying people to film themselves performing tasks like folding laundry, loading dishwashers, or making espresso."

"Robots require different kinds of data, though, to learn basic dexterity so they can ultimately join a factory line or mop your kitchen floor. "Unlike LLMs, robotics doesn't have the internet as a ready-made dataset - you have to generate training data from scratch in the real world, which is far harder," Ulrik Hansen, cofounder of data labeling startup Encord, told Business Insider. Hansen says his startup is seeing four times as much volume for this kind of data compared to last year."

Robotics requires real-world, fine-grained visual and physical data rather than internet text, so companies are hiring humans to record chore-oriented demonstrations for training. Startups that provide AI training and labeling like Encord, Micro1, and Scale AI are increasing robotics-focused work and paying participants to film tasks such as folding laundry, loading dishwashers, and making espresso. Venture capital funding for robotics is surging, reaching $12.1 billion year-to-date, and investors expect rapid progress. Data-labeling firms report multiple-fold increases in demand, and some programs offer participants tools like Meta Ray-Ban cameras and pay rates reported around $25 to $50.

Read at Business Insider