Tech companies desperately want to film you doing chores | The VergeSkip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyNotificationsNotificationsHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.NotificationsNotificationsHamburger Navigation ButtonNavigation DrawerThe VergeThe Verge logo.Login / Sign UpcloseCloseSearchTechExpandAmazonAppleFacebookGoogleMicrosoftSamsungBusinessSee all techReviewsExpandSmart Home ReviewsPhone ReviewsTablet ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsSee all reviewsScienceExpandSpaceEnergyEnvironmentHealthSee all scienceEntertainmentExpandTV ShowsMoviesAudioSee all entertainmentAIExpandOpenAIAnthropicSee all AIPolicyExpandAntitrustPoliticsLawSecuritySee all policyGadgetsExpandLaptopsPhonesTVsHeadphonesSpeakersWearablesSee all gadgetsVerge ShoppingExpandBuying GuidesDealsGift GuidesSee all shoppingGamingExpandXboxPlayStationNintendoSee all gamingStreamingExpandDisneyHBONetflixYouTubeCreatorsSee all streamingTransportationExpandElectric CarsAutonomous CarsRide-sharingScootersSee all transportationFeaturesVerge VideoExpandTikTokYouTubeInstagramPodcastsExpandDecoderThe VergecastVersion HistoryNewslettersArchivesStoreVerge Product UpdatesSubscribeFacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSThe VergeThe Verge logo.Tech companies desperately want to film you doing choresNotificationsNotificationsComments DrawerNotificationsCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...AICloseAIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All AIReportCloseReportPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All ReportTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechTech companies desperately want to film you doing choresStartups are paying people for the real-world data needed to train their robots. Startups are paying people for the real-world data needed to train their robots. by Robert HartCloseRobert HartAI ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Robert HartMay 29, 2026, 5:37 PM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: The VergeRobert HartCloseRobert HartPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Robert Hart is a London-based reporter at The Verge covering all things AI and a Senior Tarbell Fellow. Previously, he wrote about health, science and tech for Forbes.This week, an AI training startup called Shift said it would clean New Yorkers’ homes for free. It has plans to expand into other cities as well, including London, and looking around my flat, I get the appeal.But there’s a catch. There’s always a catch.In exchange for the cleaning, Shift wants footage of its cleaners at work: scrubbing dishes, wiping counters, dusting tables, mopping floors. It wants everything. Video of all the boring domestic labor we’d happily outsource if we could — and that robotics companies are racing to teach machines to do so they can sell us something to do it for us.That’s harder than it sounds. Unlike chatbots, image generators, and other AI tools that have exploded in recent years, robots have to deal with the physical world. That means understanding space, motion, force, friction, weird shapes and materials, awkward lighting, and everything else that humans — and other organics — tend to grasp instinctively. It’s why things that are generally easy for us, like folding clothes, picking up an apple, or pouring a glass of water, have proven so maddening for roboticists to codify.Teaching machines to do those things takes data. Lots of it. Text, images, and videos could be easily scraped from the internet at an industrial scale. And they were, often without compensating the people who made them. The physical world is harder to scrape, and harder still to scrape quietly without paying for it. This means access to high-quality data is a massive bottleneck for companies developing physical AI. It’s a lucrative opportunity, so companies like Shift are getting creative.They’re not alone. In India, recent reporting revealed that home services platform Pronto has been using clients’ homes as a source of AI training footage for chores like cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Pronto says it only records footage if customers explicitly opt in — it’s not clear what customers get in return, other than a copy of the footage — but the practice still set off a wave of backlash in the market, with rival startups insisting they have never recorded inside homes to train AI and have no plans to do so.Other startups are focused on trying to scale data collection. Silicon Valley-based Human Archive, for example, hopes to partner with companies like Pronto and have gig workers record their activities using not-so-stylish camera caps. The hats collect footage from the wearer’s point of view, exactly the kind of “egocentric” or first-person data robotics companies need to teach machines how people navigate physical space. Shift, meanwhile, also taps consumers directly, and claims to have paid tens of thousands of people across 15 countries to record their activities through its app.Some companies are skipping useful work altogether. Instead, workers are paid to complete the exact same physical tasks again and again while cameras and sensors can capture every movement. Such staged data farms are designed to turn rote physical activity — folding towels, picking up cups, carrying boxes — into AI training material valuable enough to justify paying people to create it.And some data is generated by robots already out in the world. Despite the hype, true automation is still a long way away — hence the need for all this data — but companies are keen to ship products anyway. They’ll use data from customers’ homes to improve the product. Many companies rely on remote workers to step in when the robots inevitably get stuck. They’ll use that data too.Of course, the act of trading data for something of value is not new. Companies have been offering discounts, convenience, and free services in exchange for access to your data for years, from loyalty cards and cookies to dashcams, insurance apps monitoring how people drive, and that heinous smart TV that’s always showing ads.What’s new is the kind of data companies are willing to pay for. For now, that means maybe letting a human clean your home in a snazzy hat for free so that, eventually, a company can sell you a robot to do it instead.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Robert HartCloseRobert HartAI ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Robert HartAICloseAIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All AIReportCloseReportPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All ReportRobotCloseRobotPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All RobotTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechMost PopularMost PopularKia’s flagship EV has a battery problemThe golden age of handheld gaming is already overWhat’s next for Microsoft’s Surface PCs?How Ferrari bungled the design of its first EVAmazon’s last-gen Paperwhite is on sale for less than the entry-level KindleThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adMore in AIJony Ive’s funky FerrariThis AI startup will clean your home for free to train future robotsAdobe’s conversational AI agent is a mediocre design internMicrosoft 365 Copilot gets a speed boost and cleaner designClaude’s new model is more ‘honest’ when it messes upA $2,000 AI-generated film will make its debut at TribecaJony Ive’s funky FerrariDavid Pierce12:25 PM UTCThis AI startup will clean your home for free to train future robotsRobert Hart11:58 AM UTCAdobe’s conversational AI agent is a mediocre design internJess Weatherbed10:00 AM UTCMicrosoft 365 Copilot gets a speed boost and cleaner designEmma RothMay 28Claude’s new model is more ‘honest’ when it messes upJay PetersMay 28A $2,000 AI-generated film will make its debut at TribecaEmma RothMay 28Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adTop Stories2:00 PM UTCHow Ferrari bungled the design of its first EV2:00 PM UTCWhat would you be willing to put in your body?12:00 PM UTCHundreds of prolific Wikipedia editors are threatening to go on strike1:00 PM UTCBackrooms is at the forefront of horror’s YouTube wave10:00 AM UTCAdobe’s conversational AI agent is a mediocre design intern34 seconds agoOpenAI is sunsetting ChatGPT’s Canvas interface.The VergeThe Verge logo.FacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSContactTip UsCommunity GuidelinesArchivesAboutEthics StatementHow We Rate and Review ProductsCookie SettingsTerms of UsePrivacy NoticeCookie PolicyLicensing FAQAccessibilityPlatform Status© 2026 Vox Media, LLC. 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Tech companies are seeking real-world data to train robots, leading to a practice where companies pay individuals to film them performing domestic chores in exchange for this necessary training material. This practice is exemplified by AI training startups such as Shift, which plans to expand its operations to include cleaning residences. The core motivation is the difficulty in teaching machines to handle the physical world, which requires understanding complex elements like space, motion, force, friction, and the nuanced interaction with various shapes and materials, areas that are intuitive for humans but challenging for robotics to codify.

Acquiring this high-quality physical data presents a significant bottleneck for developers of physical artificial intelligence. While text, images, and videos can be easily scraped from the internet, physically capturing this data is more difficult and requires compensation for the labor involved. Consequently, companies are engaging with human subjects to generate this necessary physical understanding. Startups are employing various methods to gather this data; for instance, home services platforms like Pronto have used clients' homes to source footage for tasks like cooking and cleaning, though these efforts have generated market backlash from competitors. Other initiatives, such as Human Archive, aim to partner with platforms to have gig workers record their activities using specialized equipment, such as camera caps that capture egocentric, or first-person views, which are essential for teaching machines how to navigate physical space.

Furthermore, some entities are creating staged data farms where workers are compensated to repeatedly execute mundane physical tasks, such as folding towels or picking up cups. This process allows cameras and sensors to capture every movement, transforming rote physical activity into the valuable training material required for AI development. Despite the hype surrounding automation, true functional automation remains distant, necessitating the collection of this extensive real-world data from both domestic settings and human performers. This exchange of data for value mirrors historical data transactions, but the complexity and specificity of the physical data being collected now set a new standard for what companies are willing to pay for, potentially involving arrangements where services are provided in exchange for access to private physical data for future robotic applications.