The startup Shift offers free cleanings where employees record their work to train AI.
Dirty windows could help develop AI-controlled cleaning robots. Shift, an AI training startup, is offering free apartment cleanings in New York, the company announced Thursday. There’s just one catch: The cleaners wear head-mounted cameras that record from a first-person perspective as they scrub bathrooms, mop floors and tidy kitchens.
According to the company, the material is intended to help train household robots and AI systems so that they can do housework independently in the future. “Your home. Cleaned for free,” says the company’s website, which advertises services from folding laundry and washing dishes to stocking the fridge and scrubbing the bathroom.
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Booming market for AI training data
The offer is the latest example from the booming field of AI training. Companies – from startups to larger players like Uber and Linkedin – are trying to get a piece of the pie. And while many of these jobs focus on office work, some, like Shift’s offering, seek to train AI for physical tasks in the real world.
Shift said the training data generated from everyday household chores is valuable enough to fully fund the cleaning service. The startup claims to be active in more than 15 countries and works with thousands of people who record videos for AI training. The company also has a form on its website for anyone who wants to work for the service.
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On its website, Shift assures that it will protect the privacy of its customers: All sensitive details will be obscured in the video before the material is used for AI training. And you don’t have to be ashamed if the apartment is particularly dirty, says Shift.
On the contrary – dirtier could even be better. “More demanding cleaning environments can be particularly useful,” says an FAQ document on the company’s website. “However, cleaners are allowed to refuse any specific task that they do not want to carry out.”
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