Your dirty windows could help create AI-powered cleaning robots.
Shift, an AI training startup, is offering free home cleanings in New York City, it said on Thursday. There’s one catch: cleaners wear head-mounted cameras that record first-person footage while they scrub bathrooms, mop floors, and organize kitchens.
The company said the footage will help train household robots and AI systems to complete chores autonomously in the future.
“Your home. Cleaned for free,” the company says on its website, which advertises services ranging from laundry folding and dishwashing to fridge organization and bathroom scrubbing.
The offering is the latest example of the booming AI training space. Companies, from startups to bigger players like Uber and LinkedIn, are trying to get in on the action. And while many of the jobs training AI focus on white-collar work, some, like Shift’s, attempt to train AI for physical tasks in the real world.
Shift said the training data generated from routine household tasks is valuable enough to subsidize the cleaning service entirely.
The startup said it operates across more than 15 countries and works with thousands of people to record videos for AI training. The company also has a form on its website for people interested in working for the service.
Shift said on its website that it protects customers’ privacy, “with any sensitive details blurred” in the video before the footage is used for AI training.
And don’t be ashamed if your apartment is particularly dirty, Shift says. In fact, grubbier might be better.
“More challenging cleaning environments can be especially useful,” an FAQ document posted on the company’s website reads.
“That said, cleaners may decline any specific task they are not comfortable performing.”
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