All posts tagged: gig

The Download: gig workers training humanoids, and better AI benchmarks

The Download: gig workers training humanoids, and better AI benchmarks

Published by skeptic

Zeus is a data recorder for Micro1, which sells the data he collects to robotics firms. As these companies race to build humanoids, videos from workers like Zeus have become the hottest new way to train them.   Micro1 has hired thousands of them in more than 50 countries, including India, Nigeria, and Argentina. The jobs pay well locally, but raise thorny questions around privacy and informed consent. The work can be challenging—and weird. Read the full story.  —Michelle Kim  Our readers recently voted humanoid robots the “11th breakthrough” to add to our 2026 list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. Check out what else officially made the cut.  AI benchmarks are broken. Here’s what we need instead.  For decades, AI has been evaluated based on whether it can outperform humans on isolated problems. But it’s seldom used this way in the real world.  While AI is assessed in a vacuum, it operates in messy, complex, multi-person environments over time. This misalignment leads us to misunderstand its capabilities, risks, and impacts.  We need new benchmarks that assess AI’s performance over longer horizons within human teams, workflows, and organizations. Here’s a …

The Download: gig workers training humanoids, and better AI benchmarks

The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home

Published by skeptic

Investors are pouring money feverishly into solving this challenge, spending over $6 billion on humanoid robots in 2025. And at-home data recording is becoming a booming gig economy around the world. Data companies like Scale AI and Encord are recruiting their own armies of data recorders, while DoorDash pays delivery drivers to film themselves doing chores. And in China, workers in dozens of state-owned robot training centers wear virtual-reality headsets and exoskeletons to teach humanoid robots how to open a microwave and wipe down the table.  “There is a lot of demand, and it’s increasing really fast,” says Ali Ansari, CEO of Micro1. He estimates that robotics companies are now spending more than $100 million each year to buy real-world data from his company and others like it. A day in the life Workers at Micro1 are vetted by an AI agent named Zara that conducts interviews and reviews samples of chore videos. Every week, they submit videos of themselves doing chores around their homes, following a list of instructions about things like keeping their …

Wolf Alice embrace their softer side in emotional gig for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall

Wolf Alice embrace their softer side in emotional gig for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall

Published by Daniella Wilson

By the very nature of their name, Wolf Alice has always been a band of two halves. As frontwoman Ellie Rowsell recently noted during their Saturday Night Live UK appearance, the moniker perfectly matches their “vibe” – and since the release of their 70s-leaning fourth album The Clearing last year, those vibes have steered away from the ferociousness of their early work. On the flip side, it was their tender, vulnerable side that was on full display on Sunday night as the band brought the 2026 Teenage Cancer Trust concert series to an emotionally charged close at London’s Royal Albert Hall. © PA Images via Getty ImagesWolf Alice performing on stage during the Teenage Cancer Trust show at the Royal Albert Hall, London It was impossible not to be moved by the stories of the brave teenagers affected by cancer who took to the stage before the music began.  Verity, diagnosed with an incurable cancer condition, gave a powerful speech about the great work the charity does. In a standout moment of the night, Verity …

Victoria and Harper Beckham lead the dancing as Geri Halliwell joins family to support Cruz Beckham at his London gig – exclusive video

Victoria and Harper Beckham lead the dancing as Geri Halliwell joins family to support Cruz Beckham at his London gig – exclusive video

Published by Daniella Wilson

There’s nothing like proud parents! Cruz Beckham is establishing himself as a rising talent in the music scene, and when he played in London on Friday evening, his famous family were out to support him.  Among the guests who headed to Hackney’s Courtyard Theatre were Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner and her daughter, Bluebell, mum Victoria Beckham, dad David Beckham, siblings Romeo Beckham and Harper Beckham plus David’s sister Joanne, Victoria’s sister Louise Adams and the family’s cousins. An onlooker told HELLO! that Harper and Romeo were in “good spirits” ahead of the gig, and that Harper even hugged her auntie when they crossed paths. Although there was a VIP section, the onlooker noted that both Romeo and Harper opted to join the crowd for the party. Although Romeo decided to dance along on his own, Harper was joined by a group of friends, and the pair eventually met up to dance to Cruz’s music, which included a song dedicated to the musician’s little sister. When Harper and Romeo left, the pair were holding hands. WATCH: …

I Tried DoorDash’s Tasks App and Saw the Bleak Future of AI Gig Work

I Tried DoorDash’s Tasks App and Saw the Bleak Future of AI Gig Work

Published by skeptic

The flash from my iPhone camera illuminates my dirty socks and underwear as I hold each item up for the video recording to capture clearly. As I load my smelly clothes into the washer, I tremble a bit each time the phone loudly beeps, detecting that my hands may be out of frame. Gotta see those fingers! No, I haven’t pivoted to filming some kind of fetish content to make ends meet—I’m trying the latest gig work app from DoorDash, called Tasks. The new Tasks app from food delivery app DoorDash has nothing to do with delivering food—it’s all about gathering training data from humans, that’s you, for improving generative AI models and humanoid robots. “This data helps AI and robotic systems understand the physical world,” reads DoorDash’s press release. “Pay is shown upfront and determined based on effort and complexity of the activity.” Most of the gigs involve strapping a smartphone to your chest and recording your hands performing specific tasks. This kind of video data can be used by developers of AI models …

Seoul raises terror threat level as 260,000 fans descend for BTS comeback gig

Seoul raises terror threat level as 260,000 fans descend for BTS comeback gig

Published by Daniella Wilson

On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch South Korea has raised its terror alert level in the capital Seoul ahead of a BTS comeback concert that is expected to draw more than 260,000 fans. On Wednesday, prime minister Kim Min Seok’s office said the alert level in Seoul’s Jongno and Jung districts had been raised from the lowest “attention” level to “caution”, the second tier in a four-level system. The heightened level will apply Thursday through Saturday midnight, according to The Korea Times. “Given the uncertainties driven by international affairs, the government concluded that it is hard to rule out the possibility of a potential terror threat to the event like BTS concert where a large crowd would flock and will take a pre-emptive move to ensure the people’s safety as a priority,” the office said in a statement. open image in gallery People stand in front of billboards promoting a comeback concert of K-pop boy …

What the Gig Economy Taught Me About Being Human

What the Gig Economy Taught Me About Being Human

Published by Sam Flores

I’ve spent nine years inside the gig economy. I write from home in rural West Virginia, a place where factory jobs disappeared long ago and this new way of working arrived like the only option left. I chase payments, explain to my two daughters why we need to wait for ice cream when a client pays late, and wonder sometimes if anyone on the other end of the screen knows I’m a person at all. Before this, I spent significant time in Kenya. I worked as a volunteer. I tutored college students and primary school kids. I learned to move through the world differently there. People showed up for each other not because it was efficient but because that’s what people do. When a student struggled, others helped. When someone needed something, the community found a way. They had far fewer resources than anyone I know here. They also had something I’m not sure how to name. Connection, maybe. The kind that doesn’t need to be scheduled. Coming back to the United States, to this …

Morrissey cancels Valencia gig because city was too ‘loud’ for him to sleep

Morrissey cancels Valencia gig because city was too ‘loud’ for him to sleep

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Heaven knows he’s sleep-deprived now – a grumpy Morrissey has called off a gig in Valencia after claiming the city is so loud that he’s been unable to rest. The former Smiths frontman, 66, was due to play in the Spanish city on Thursday (12 March), but he pulled the plug after struggling to get any sleep “due to festival noise, loud techno singing and megaphone announcements” through the night, which he said has left him in “a catatonic state”. He wrote on his blog Morrissey Central: “Tonight’s scheduled show in Valencia has been rendered impossible due to sleep deprivation. Morrissey drove from Milan to Valencia but has been unable to rest in Valencia due to noise.” The singer, who said he was experiencing “indescribable hell”, wrote in a follow-up post: “The show is not cancelled. Circumstances render the show impossible,” adding in …

How a 3-week babysitting gig turned into a lifelong relationship for two women : NPR

How a 3-week babysitting gig turned into a lifelong relationship for two women : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Margaret Tobin accepted a three-week babysitting gig in 1989 for a newborn named Audrey that turned into a life-long relationship. The two women talk about their life together. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: It’s time again for StoryCorps. In 1989, Margaret Tobin was a personal chef, but she decided to pick up a few bucks babysitting for a newborn named Audrey. It was supposed to be a three-week gig. Eighteen years later, Margaret and Audrey came to StoryCorps to talk about their life together. MARGARET TOBIN: When you were little, I would put you on my shoulder, and it was like icing on a cupcake. You would just drape down over my shoulder. And we called you Scrumpshy ’cause you were such a scrumptious baby. You just ate everything, so I would take you along when I would cook. There was one time you were, like, 14 months, and I turned around and I didn’t see you. And I looked at the end of the counter, and all I see were these two little …