In this era of rapid growth in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, Indians are playing a pivotal role in training future robots to perform tasks traditionally done by humans. To achieve this, thousands of individuals are recording their daily activities on video and providing them to AI developmental companies.
Twenty-five-year-old Nagireddy Sriramya Chandra from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is one such contributor. While performing her household chores—specifically cutting mangoes and handling kitchen work—she films the activities using a head-mounted camera. She then sends these videos to AI firms, earning up to ₹250 for a single hour of video recording.
In her own words, Sriramya Chandra views this as a great opportunity to generate an income while managing her routine household duties. She also expressed hope that she might use one of these robots herself in the future. Currently, AI chatbots and image-generation systems operate by leveraging massive amounts of internet data. However, teaching robots to move and execute tasks in real life just like humans is a far more complex challenge. Consequently, developers are training robots using videos recorded from a human’s point of view to replicate real-world actions accurately.
The Rise of Egocentric Data Collection
These types of recordings are known as “First-Person Data” or “Egocentric Data.” While some contributors perform this task directly from their homes, others operate in factories or specialized studios equipped with video glasses, head cameras, and motion sensors.
Sriramya Chandra explains that the system she uses issues an immediate warning alert if a video fails to record properly. Once filmed, the data is transmitted to AI data companies through a specialized application. Reports indicate that these data firms cater to some of the largest global tech corporations.
The global market for humanoid robots is expanding at an unprecedented pace. Forecasts suggest that over one billion robots could be in active use by the year 2050, with their utilization heavily concentrated across industrial and commercial sectors.
Against this backdrop, India is rapidly transforming into a major global hub for AI data collection, processing, and labeling services. Industry experts believe this sector will unlock significantly more employment opportunities in the coming years.
The Threat of Job Displacement
However, despite the evident benefits of AI, experts caution that it could drastically impact the traditional labor market. Extensive debates are already underway regarding the looming risk of widespread job displacement.
Fifty-five-year-old Ponni, who has spent the last decade making flower garlands in Bengaluru to earn a living, has also become a part of this AI training initiative. Her specific workflow was captured using a smartphone camera. She expressed concern that AI and robotics could eventually pose a severe challenge to new vendors and traditional artisans who do similar work.
Ultimately, while Indians are actively involved in training AI robots today, tech analysts emphasize that this very technology is poised to fundamentally reshape the future landscape of employment.