A WIRED journalist accepted a free three-course meal from Shift, a company that records skilled workers’ hand movements to create training data for robots. The private chef wore a camera mounted on his cap while cooking in the journalist’s home, illustrating how firms are extending data collection from online activity into domestic, physical tasks that future humanoid robots may need to perform.

Shift, part of German robotics startup Microagi, has also offered free cleaning in New York and home-cooked meals in San Francisco in exchange for recordings. Its chief executive says the business could let contractors earn money by selling first-person task footage while improving AI models, though the journalist notes that such gig-work payments have generally been small. The recorded meal included gazpacho, baked salmon with creamy courgette sauce, and trumpet mushrooms.