Indian workers record their own labor to train AI robots, often without being told why
Workers at textile factories and data companies in India are wearing GoPro cameras and smart glasses to record their hand movements, generating what the AI industry calls "egocentric data" used to train robots. India has become a key location for this data collection due to its large population, relatively low wages, and openness to new technology. Some workers are compensated by the hour for participating, while others appear to be recorded without explanation.
At a textile factory in Karur, India, 40-year-old Shoba Kirubakaran was packing aprons with a GoPro strapped to her head — for the third time, she said. The camera was recording her hand movements to train AI robots to replicate her job. NPR reported that Kirubakaran said she was not told the purpose of the recordings: "Nobody told me anything about it." Kirubakaran earns $90 a month and has worked at the factory for ten years.
India has emerged as a significant hub for egocentric data collection — footage gathered from a human's point of view used to teach AI systems physical tasks. Prathosh A.P., a professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, described the rationale: "Think of today's AIs as brains without a body. Now you have to give them all motor skills." Developers need millions of hours of such footage, and India's large labor pool and wage structure make it an attractive source, according to NPR's reporting.
In Karur, the data company Objectways gathers and sells egocentric footage to AI developers. Its CEO, Ravi Shankar, said his Indian clients seek robots for tasks that are difficult to staff, geographically isolated, or physically demanding — such as tapping rubber from trees, cleaning solar panels in remote areas, or destemming chiles. Inside Objectways, workers record themselves performing both industrial tasks and domestic chores in a floor fitted to resemble a three-bedroom home, including a mock kitchen where a woman recorded herself chopping onions.