Showing how the race to build smarter artificial intelligence is creating a new class of workers, AFP reported that thousands of Indians are helping train the next generation of robots by recording themselves performing everyday tasks, from folding towels to slicing mangoes.
In Chennai, 25-year-old Nagireddy Sriramyachandra straps a smartphone to her head and films herself doing household chores.
ALSO READ | AI Adoption In Indian Corporate Real Estate Ecosystem Surges Past 90%, Says Report
For about Rs 250 an hour, she captures first-person videos that AI companies use to teach robots how humans interact with objects and navigate real-world environments.
"Who else will give you Rs 250 an hour just for doing housework?" Sriramyachandra told AFP. "I may get a robot myself in the future."
The recordings, known as "egocentric data", are increasingly sought after by AI developers trying to build robots capable of performing routine tasks autonomously.
Workers use head-mounted cameras, smart glasses and motion sensors to generate vast amounts of training data.
Tamil Nadu-based AI data company Objectways, which serves multinational clients and works with Amazon SageMaker, is among firms tapping India's growing workforce of AI trainers.
The company collects videos of activities such as folding clothes, preparing coffee and making sandwiches.
"Some jobs are supposed to be taken over, so humans can go and do better things," Objectways CEO Ravi Shankar told AFP.
The trend comes as India strengthens its position as a global hub for AI data collection, processing and annotation. According to digital labour expert Aditi Surie of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, demand for such services is likely to increase as AI systems become more sophisticated.
ALSO READ | AI To Bring More Jobs; Indian Engineers Must Focus On Collaboration: Microsoft's Rajiv Kumar
Yet the rise of automation has also sparked concerns about its impact on employment.
A recent NITI Aayog report noted that discussions around AI often focus on white-collar jobs while overlooking India's vast informal workforce of nearly 490 million people.
Despite concerns, some industry leaders see collaboration rather than competition between humans and machines. "A welder in India could be managing a welder-robot in Prague," Manish Agarwal of Humyn Labs said, arguing that humans and robots will increasingly work together in the future.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.