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ZDNET Highlights
- Uber launches a new, optional “digital work” program in the US.
- Drivers can upload content to help companies train AI models.
- Compensation depends on the timeliness and complexity of a task.
There’s a lot more to being employed by Uber than just driving around with passengers – at least, that’s what Uber says. After expanding its courier service in 2020, Uber is now offering drivers the opportunity to help companies train their AI models for extra cash.
how it works
According to Uber, later this year, drivers and couriers who join the program can complete “digital tasks” within Uber’s driver app. These tasks may include submitting a video of yourself speaking in your native language, uploading photos of typical everyday objects, or submitting documents written in a different language.
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After the task is completed, the earnings will be credited to the users account within 24 hours. Compensation depends on the time commitment required to complete the tasks and their complexity.
Adobe launched a similar program last year for content to train its video models.
Uber says that over time, more digital tasks will be available across a wider range of requests, giving users the opportunity to earn more money without driving their cars.
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one in blog postUber says the program connects users with “companies that need real people to help improve their technology” — such as AI companies that need real-life resources to train their models. Opportunities to complete digital tasks depend on the demand from the companies that need them, so it may not be a reliable source of income.
Avoiding copyright issues
Calling on everyday people to submit photos, videos, written documents and voice clips could be a solution for AI companies hoping to prevent copyright legal battles between themselves and publishers. Typically, AI companies scrape training data from the open Internet in the form of text, audio, video, images, and more; As a result, record labels, social media companies, newspapers, independent artists, and film studios have sued AI companies like OpenAI, Listen, and Anthropic, usually claiming copyright infringement.
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Instead of training an AI image generator on professional, credited photos of Bananas, perhaps the average person could help in exchange for a few extra dollars. This is a gig-economy spin on an existing method of training AI models in which companies Workers in the global south are paid very low wages Tagging and sorting data for ingestion into models.
Privacy concerns
It’s unclear how much of a cut Uber will take from participants in this program, and the privacy policy surrounding the program is also unclear. Uber says it will not reveal the names or business goals of the AI companies to participants. You may assume that AI companies may sell, transfer, or retain any materials obtained in the Program.
