is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.
In its quest to become the ultimate app for “flexible work,” Uber launched today a new pilot to allow its US drivers and couriers to earn extra money by performing “microtasks” to train AI models.
These tasks include audio voice recording, capturing and uploading images, and submitting documents in certain languages. The prompts will vary, but some examples include “upload images of cars” or “record yourself speaking in your language or local dialect.” Another example is to upload a menu that’s written in Spanish, which could earn someone as much as a whole dollar.
The move could position Uber’s global army of freelance drivers and delivery workers to challenge established players like Scale AI and Amazon’s Mechanical Turks — businesses and platforms that work with generative AI companies to help train their models by having humans annotate and label the data that feeds them. Most of that work is done through low-cost labor outside the US and is seen as critical in the development of powerful AI models.
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1 / 4 Uber drivers can now earn money by performing microtasks for training AI models. Image: Uber
It’s also one of many announcements that Uber is making today around the idea of building “the best platform for flexible work,” as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi declared today at an event in Washington, DC. Most of the announcements center on how drivers and couriers interact with the app, aiming to make the experience of working for Uber easier, smarter, and fairer. In addition to digital microtasks, Uber is also redesigning its trip offer cards, introducing a new heatmap to direct drivers to high-demand areas, and expanding its features to give women drivers more control over their rides.
Uber has used independent contractors to train AI models in the past, using what it calls “human-in-the-loop” processes that blend “human expertise with machine automation,” according to the company’s AI Solutions Group. The company recently bought Belgian startup Segments.ai to expand its nascent data-labeling business. Uber drivers in India were recently given the opportunity to earn small amounts of money responding to prompts in the Uber app for the first time. Now the company is bringing its digital tasks pilot to the US.
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