A woman is sitting at a corner table at Urth Caffé in downtown Los Angeles. Next to her is a large black bag. People keep walking up. She hands each one a package and instructions. They leave.
She’s not a drug dealer. She’s a manager for Instawork, handing out headbands with phone mounts. The job? Go home. Strap this to your forehead. Do your chores. Collect $20 an hour.
I’m serious.
👀 AI needs to watch
AI learned by consuming the internet. Robots can’t learn that way. They need to watch how human hands move. How you grip a sponge. How your wrist turns when you fold a towel. So companies are paying real people to film tasks at home, in real time.
One participant, Salvador Arciga, told the Los Angeles Times (paywall link): “I need to do chores anyway. Now I get a chance to get paid to do it.” Same, Salvador. Same.
And if washing dishes for robots sounds too weird to be real, buckle up. It gets better.
💰 Pick your level
THE CHORE CAM, $20/hour: Go to Instawork.com and search for AI data collection or robot training tasks in your area. Good lighting, natural pace, steady movement. The footage trains robots. The paycheck hits your bank. Instawork also has a referral program. You and a friend both earn a cash bonus when they complete their first shift. Do your dishes. Make money.
DATA ANNOTATOR. $15 to $30/hour: AI needs humans to label images, flag bad responses and rate search results. No experience required. Zero. CrowdGen and Stellar AI hire with no set schedule. Work between meetings. Work when the kids are asleep. Work in your pajamas. Nobody cares.
AI VOICE ACTOR, $10 to $18/hour: AI needs to sound human. Companies pay people to read sentences, record conversations and rate voice authenticity. No studio. No experience. Just a quiet room and a clear voice. Search “AI voice training” on CrowdGen or Mindrift.
IMPROV ACTOR / AI TRAINER, Up to $74/hour: This is the one that stopped me cold. Companies hire people to role-play real-life scenarios, so AI learns how humans handle awkward conversations, angry customers and complicated situations. You’re not acting. You’re teaching. Learn more here.
THE EXPERT TRACK, Serious money for serious credentials: Micro1 is a completely different animal. They recruit professionals with real-world expertise to train AI on how to actually think, not how to mop a floor. We’re talking doctors and nurses reviewing medical AI responses. Attorneys building legal training datasets. Financial analysts teaching AI to interpret budgets and taxes. Engineers. Teachers. Writers. Linguists. Artists. All remote. All flexible. Pay reflects your expertise, not your mop skills. Browse current openings and apply here.
🚰 The other day, my son was freaking out at the sight of the plates, cups, bowls, etc. stacked in the sink. I put my hands on his shoulders and said, “Dishes not the time to panic.” He was not amused.
📩 Send this to someone who is looking for extra income. Forward this to a retired professional with decades of expertise who’d love flexible remote work. One of these opportunities was made for someone you know.