GoKawiilOn Thursday, delivery platform DoorDash announced a new job expansion called Tasks, a set of small jobs its Dashers can do to earn a bit of extra money. Some of these tasks are benign additions to the regular delivery app, like taking pictures of menus or the entrances to establishments.
DoorDash is also launching a standalone app that really caught our attention. Through it, the company will assign basic tasks for training AI models.
"Dashers can complete activities like filming everyday tasks or recording themselves speaking in another language," DoorDash's post explains. "This data helps AI and robotic systems understand the physical world."
If you head into the new download pages for the Tasks app, you'll see other examples of tasks, including washing at least five dishes with your hands visible, making your bed and repotting plants.
Today's AIs use advanced machine learning to interpret not only text, as in the case of chatbots, but also visual data, such as objects, actions and even the context behind certain actions. DoorDash's video tasks would presumably be used for this type of training.
It's not the first time we've seen companies hire gig workers specifically to train AI -- Uber started its own AI training program late last year.
But these programs raise questions. What happens when AI models are deemed sufficiently trained? Would these trained AIs be used to replace employees in other industries? Are the Dashers (uhh, Taskers?) using this app able to protect their own privacy when AI analyzes their videos?
When I reached out to DoorDash, the company told me it "maintains robust privacy safeguards across all of our products and services, including Tasks," without offering specifics.
It's not clear what AI models will be trained on all this visual data, but DoorDash is casting a wide net. The company says that it's partnering with businesses from the retail, insurance, hospitality and technology industries for Tasks training. Maybe some of it will train robots.
DoorDash's Tasks will have two parts: one available to traditional Dashers and a separate app for training AI. DoorDash
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