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I Got a Free Meal From a Private Chef—Who Filmed It All to Train Robots
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.
In short
- Free services are being exchanged for robot-training footage.
- A chef’s cooking movements were filmed inside a customer’s home.
- Shift sees first-person recordings as a new AI gig market.
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The case for
Recording skilled workers’ movements in real homes could give robots practical training data that is difficult to obtain from online sources, helping them perform useful tasks and potentially making domestic work safer or easier. If people choose to take part and are fairly compensated, the scheme could also create a new source of income for workers and broaden who benefits from robotics.
The case against
Filming inside homes captures intimate details of people’s lives and raises questions about consent, privacy, data security and how recordings may be used later. Payments may be too small to reflect the value of workers’ expertise or the commercial benefits created, while automating domestic tasks could eventually weaken demand for some forms of paid work.
Explained simply
Artificial intelligence systems that power robots need data showing how humans perform physical tasks. A company called Shift is gathering this data by recording skilled workers—such as private chefs and cleaners—as they perform everyday jobs in people's homes. The workers wear cameras while they work, capturing their hand movements and techniques in detail.
The recorded footage trains humanoid robots to perform the same tasks. Shift offers people free services like cooked meals or home cleaning in exchange for permission to film the work. The company argues this could create income opportunities for workers who sell recordings of their skills, though casual work typically pays modest amounts.
This reflects how companies are expanding data collection for artificial intelligence beyond online activity into physical, domestic spaces. As robots become increasingly capable, firms need detailed footage of how humans perform intricate real-world tasks. The practice raises questions about fair payment to workers and privacy when cameras are set up in people's homes.
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